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Times Leader P.M. Update: Wednesday, March 24

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WILKES-BARRE — State Sen. John Yudichak this week said over the last year, there have been many questions and very few answers from the Wolf Administration about the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in long-term care facilities.

One year after the Wolf Administration ordered the state’s long-term care community to accept COVID-19 positive patients, a group of state senators highlighted the ongoing lack of accountability and cooperation from Gov. Tom Wolf, while calling on the governor to fully engage with the state’s long-term care community.

Sen. Judy Ward (R-30), chair of the Senate’s Aging and Youth Committee and Sen. Yudichak, I-Swoyersville, committee vice chair, were joined by Sen. Mike Regan’s constituent Brad Swidler of Camp Hill, who blames the Wolf Administration’s policies for his father’s death from COVID-19.

The senators were also joined by Zach Shamberg, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association.

“We want to move forward — and in order to do so, Gov. Wolf and his Administration need to start working collaboratively with the General Assembly and the long-term care industry,” Yudichak said. “Our nursing home residents, their families and the staff deserve answers and they deserve to know that as we move forward, the most vulnerable citizens in this terrible pandemic will be our top priority and they will never be overlooked.”

The senators highlighted:

• The Wolf Administration’s orders impacting long-term care facilities.

• The lack of availability for widespread testing for facility employees.

• The shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at long-term care facilities despite a state stockpile.

• The initial exclusion of the long-term care community from vaccine roll-out planning.

While state Auditor General Tim DeFoor has indicated his interest in reviewing what role state government played in protecting long-term care residents at these facilities, the senators called on the governor to stop acting unilaterally and engage with the long-term care community.

“We do not want to forget the many lives that have been lost,” Ward said. “These families deserve answers. Gov. Wolf must change his unilateral approach and work with the long-term care community to develop policies that will safeguard this community moving forward.”

Regan said he has called on the Attorney General, to conduct an investigation which would entail gathering evidence to determine wrongdoing by Gov. Wolf and Dr. Rachel Levine, former state Secretary of Health.

“I am asking for Pennsylvania’s leaders — those who made unilateral decisions throughout the pandemic — to be held accountable for actions and decisions that resulted in the deaths of more than 12,000 nursing home residents,” Regan said.

<strong>Swidler tells story</strong>

Swidler said he is the ambassador for his dad — Norman Malcom Swidler — in order to tell his story because he is not able to any longer.

“I am here to speak today for all those who have lost a loved one in a long-term care facility in Pennsylvania,” Swidler said. “In 2021, the Swidlers and all of the other families who lost loved ones in a nursing home during the COVID-19 pandemic deserve answers. I am telling my dad’s story because every resident and family member who has lost of loved one in a personal care home is looking for answers.”

Shamberg said for more than a year, long-term care providers, workers and residents have remained at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is no question this pandemic was unprecedented, but the need for collaboration between stakeholders and state government is not new,” he said. “The voices of long-term care — our healthcare heroes on the front lines, as well as our most vulnerable senior citizens — must be heard. Their shared challenges, experiences and solutions will better prepare us in the months and years ahead.”

The senators said that Wolf, through the state Department of Health, issued a March 18, 2020, order that said long-term care facilities “must” accept COVID-19 positive patients.

After repeated calls for accountability, Ward and Yudichak called on DeFoor to review Wolf’s handling of the nursing homes during the pandemic. They said the Auditor General has indicated his interest in auditing what role state government played in protecting long-term care residents at these facilities, which were operating under emergency direction and guidance from these departments during this pandemic.

<strong>Administration responds</strong>

Barry Ciccocioppo, spokesman for the Department of Health, issued a response to the senators’ claims:

“In an effort to help control the spread of COVID-19 last March, the Department of Health issued several pieces of guidance that provided direction on infection control, cohorting, admittance, and other actions following guidance from the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services (CMS). In order to provide proper care, facilities should have been implementing all of the guidance documents that were designed to be followed together.

“Critics intentionally, or out of unfamiliarity, ignore the totality of the guidance provided by both DOH and CMS that included specific to infection control methods that facilities should have implemented during COVID to protect their residents and staff.

“The Department of Health acted swiftly throughout COVID-19 response to best protect Pennsylvanians and battle the COVID-19 pandemic in long-term care facilities.

“According to the Associated Press article on Feb. 26, 2021, ‘The American Health Care Association has pointed to research that it says shows the location of a nursing home, asymptomatic spread and availability of testing were determining factors in COVID-19 outbreaks.’”

Senators call for Wolf to ‘fully engage’ with long-term care community