"From the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, our state’s nursing homes, their residents, and their healthcare workers have been extremely vulnerable to the impacts of the COVID-19 virus. Prior to the pandemic, we saw facility standards fluctuate wildly across nursing home facilities and called for more rigorous inspections and licensing. The Coronavirus outbreak saw PPE shortages as well as a state mandate requiring facilities to accept COVID-positive patients. We owe the victims and their families a thorough, independent investigation to ensure similar missteps are avoided in the future. This must go beyond the Governor and Attorney General, who have blatantly politicized such investigations in the past."