Pennsylvania Republicans are pushing forward on an investigation into the Wolf administration's COVID-19 response at nursing homes.
House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff said he will refer the investigation to the House Government Oversight Committee, which has subpoena power, once the House returns to session.
"At the end of the day we want Pennsylvanians to feel we are a lot more prepared than we were 12 months ago and more importantly that decisions are being made by more than one or two people," Benninghoff told FOX43.
Republicans claim that the Wolf administration has not been transparent and said during the press conference that since the beginning of the pandemic, roughly half of all Pennsylvania COVID-19 deaths are attributable to nursing homes. The GOP also questioned what they call 'conflicting and incomplete' data reporting and questioned why the Department of Health allowed nursing home readmissions from hospitals of COVID-19-positive patients.
"As the pandemic was beginning, then Health Secretary Dr. Levine removed her own mother from one of those long-term care facilities and put her in a hotel," said Rep. Benninghoff.
Upon news of the announcement Monday, the Governor's office released a statement that read in part, "these baseless, ongoing insinuations by the GOP portray a significant lack of understanding of the role of the Department of Health and guidance provided to nursing facilities. The Department of Health issued several pieces of guidance in March of 2020 that provides direction on infection control, cohorting, admittance, and other actions. This guidance mirrored the federal government's recommendations, and importantly, it required facilities to follow specific infection control measures in order to protect patients against COVID-19. It is critically important to look at the entirety of the guidance provided to nursing homes."
It was just last month that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf was asked if he would welcome an investigation into nursing home response, such as the one conducted in New York.
At that time, Gov. Wolf said in part, "I think we’re doing a pretty good job but we’re always looking for ways to improve and that really requires that we allow people to come and take a look at what we’re doing."
House Democrats released the following statement:
"House Democrats will work with the bipartisan oversight committee to review what happened in 2020. It’s important to not only identify any missteps but also to highlight the many things that were done right. This fact-finding process will be guided by the truth and not by any false claims."
- Bill Patton, spokesperson
As for the timeline of the investigation, Rep. Kerry Benninghoff said "we are not putting a timeline on this. We want it to be done thoroughly. We want it to be done fairly."
Listen to more of FOX43's interview with Rep. Benninghoff
READ THE FULL STATEMENT FROM THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
"These baseless, ongoing insinuations by the GOP portray a significant lack of understanding of the role of the Department of Health and guidance provided to nursing facilities.
The Department of Health issued several pieces of guidance in March of 2020 that provides direction on infection control, cohorting, admittance, and other actions. This guidance mirrored the federal government's recommendations, and importantly, it required facilities to follow specific infection control measures in order to protect patients against COVID-19. It is critically important to look at the entirety of the guidance provided to nursing homes. While the Department of Health provides guidance, licensing, and enforcement actions, it does not own or operate nursing homes. The Department of Health licenses nursing home facilities and works tirelessly to provide resources and supports for nursing homes to minimize exposure, prevent outbreak and ultimately help improve safety for residents and staff. It is incumbent upon the nursing homes to follow infection control and other guidance designed to keep patients safe during both regular periods and the COVID-19 pandemic. Failure to institute protections can result in sanctions, license suspensions or revocations. For the most egregious violations the department has gone so far as to provide temporary managers or sent regional teams to help facilities establish proper protocols to keep residents and staff safe.
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. In regards to admittance, according to the Associated Press article on Feb. 26, 2021, “Despite a high number of nursing home deaths in Pennsylvania, no investigation has thus far pointed to the policy as a cause of death or outbreak. Meanwhile, nursing home trade associations in Pennsylvania say they are not aware of a nursing home that was forced to accept a COVID-positive patient against its will, or that the order led to death or an outbreak.”
The department will continue its commitment to supporting and providing resources to nursing homes throughout Pennsylvania. To date, every skilled nursing facility in the state – more than 600 – have had first and second clinics to provide vaccinations to residents and staff who want to be vaccinated, resulting in hundreds of thousands of vaccinated Pennsylvanians."