Where is NY’s Long-Term Care Plan? 28 Organizations Urge Preparation for 2nd Wave, Future Emergencies

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Call on Assembly to Pass Bill Creating Long-Term Care Task Force

ALBANY, N.Y. – AARP New York and 27 other organizations from across the State are urging the State Assembly to pass a bill aimed at better preparing New York’s long-term care system, including our nursing homes, for a potential second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and future health emergencies – and avoid repeating the mistakes of 2020.

More than 6,500 people have died so far in nursing homes in New York since the onset of the pandemic – not counting the number of nursing home residents who died from COVID after being transferred to hospitals, a number the State has refused to disclose.

“We can never let the horrors that have occurred in our nursing homes and the tremendous strain on our long-term care system the past seven months happen again,” said AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel. “Too many of our parents, grandparents and spouses died – alone, under tragic conditions. We need a thorough rethinking of how to better prepare our long-term care system for a potential second wave of the pandemic or any future health emergency. This bill would create a mechanism to do just that.”

The organizations sent a letter to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie urging his house to take up A10836-Cruz, a bill to create a task force that would study the state of long-term care services in New York. The State Senate passed its version of the bill (S8633-May) earlier this year with bipartisan support.

“New York State is reimagining many of the systems we depend on, such as schools and hospitals,” the letter says. “Another critical system that requires substantial consideration, especially in light of the pandemic, is our long-term care system.”

The task force would examine the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on long-term care in New York and develop a report examining issues like staffing shortages, visitation bans, infection control protocols and enforcement.

The Task Force would then provide recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature about building a more resilient long-term care system to protect residents’ and clients' overall wellbeing in any future pandemic.

AARP New York has been fighting for such a task force since April, when the association - with healthcare workers union 1199SEIU, the Asian American Federation, Hispanic Federation, NAACP of New York and New York Urban League - sent a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo urging him to create one.

Finkel noted the pandemic has disproportionately hurt New Yorkers of color and said, “It’s time to work collectively across all levels of government, with the non-profit and private sectors, to address structural inequities that adversely affect our older population and communities of color – and that have been highlighted and exacerbated by the pandemic. It is a matter of life and death.”

If passed by the Assembly, the bill to create the task force would still need Governor Cuomo’s approval to become law.

Contact: Erik Kriss, ekriss@aarp.org 

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AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members and offices in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and advocate for what matters most to families with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name.  As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world’s largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

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