COVID-19 has caused thousands of deaths in Michigan nursing homes. | stock photo
COVID-19 has caused thousands of deaths in Michigan nursing homes. | stock photo
Rep. John Reilly (R-Oakland Township) supports a plan to investigate and correct the policy that may have led to nearly 2,000 COVID-related deaths in Michigan nursing homes.
Reilly said the order that required COVID-19 patients to be placed in long-term care facilities alongside uninfected patients was not debated or decided by the Legislature. The order is still in effect, even though many believe it puts lives at risk.
“A recent New York Times article alluded to the fact that more than 40% of COVID-19 deaths are tied to nursing homes,” Reilly said, according to Michigan House Republicans. “We must do everything in our power to stem this tide.”
Rep. John Reilly
| Michigan House Republicans
The plan requires the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the state department for Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to conduct an investigation and report on the current policies regarding COVID-19 patients and nursing homes by Saturday, Aug. 15.
The plan also requires MDHHS to develop a plan by Tuesday, Sept. 1, that would designate one facility in each of the eight health regions for use exclusively by COVID-19 patients.
Lastly, the plan protects nursing home residents by prohibiting COVID-19 patients from being placed in any long-term care facility, unless there is a designated separate area for them to be isolated away from uninfected patients.
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