There has been controversy over Gov. Whitmer's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to nursing homes. | Canva
There has been controversy over Gov. Whitmer's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to nursing homes. | Canva
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 policies involving nursing homes have been scrutinized as the death toll has mounted and legislation has been vetoed.
Her policies are once again under the microscope following the Michigan Nursing Homes COVID-19 Preparedness Task Force’s recommendations, which were recently released and echoed that of the Senate legislation the governor had vetoed.
Sen. Lana Theis (R-Brighton) feels that due to the task force’s decision, the governor has opted to put politics and her own standing above solutions and saving lives.
Sen. Lana Theis
| #MiSenateGOP
“The deadly spread of COVID-19 in our state’s nursing homes demands the Whitmer administration fix its failed policies. Over a third of all COVID-19 deaths in Michigan have occurred among nursing home patients. Sadly, that percentage is likely much higher because the administration has neither counted nor released all the data from similar elder care facilities,” she said, according to MiSenateGOP.
The task force had 28 recommendations for the governor, which highlighted Care and Recovery Centers.
“Under the new model, the state will identify criteria and procedures to approve facilities as Care and Recovery Centers,” the report said, reported by the Detroit Free Press. “Facilities that were previously designated as hubs may, at their discretion, reapply to be designated as a Care and Recovery Center, subject to the new criteria.”
Theis said it is the governor’s responsibility to act quickly and begin to make corrective actions on behalf of the state’s senior citizens.
“That the governor’s own task force made recommendations mirroring Senate legislation she vetoed weeks ago makes clear she has chosen politics over practical solutions and even the lives of our state’s most vulnerable residents. The governor’s rejection of bipartisan legislation, which would have already implemented some of this task force’s recommendations, has done nothing to protect our seniors in Michigan’s elder care facilities,” Theis said, according to MiSenateGOP.
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