New York Ombudsmen Quoted on Immunity Law

April 17, 2020

New York Ombudsmen were interviewed by Law360 on the executive order that New York state granted to nursing homes and their staff as the facilities seek personnel, equipment, and testing. The law loosens record-keeping requirements and immunizes health care providers from liability as long as they are responding to the COVID-19 emergency in good faith. Claudette Royal, New York State Ombudsman, told Law360 that some nursing homes were also declining to provide information about “their COVID-19 status” to residents’ families or to the Ombudsman office. New York City Ombudsman program representative, Deirdre Garrett-Scott, said she had received consistent reports of severe understaffing from elderly residents telling her that there was just one nursing aide for 40 to 60 residents. Read the full article.