skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Senior Advocates Urge Governor to Require More Testing in Nursing Homes

play audio
Play

Thursday, July 2, 2020   

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Senior groups are pleading for increased COVID-19 testing at Connecticut nursing homes, because residents of these facilities make up less than 1% the state's population, but 64% of deaths and 19% of infections.

AARP Connecticut sent a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont this week, asking that he reinstate the June 1 executive order requiring nursing-home staff be tested weekly.

It's an order that he relaxed just two weeks later.

Anna Doroghazi, associate state director for advocacy and outreach at AARP Connecticut, said she is baffled by the governor's backtracking: "Why we aren't taking really aggressive measures to protect this population that has already suffered so much during the pandemic?"

Gov. Lamont has said the change, which drops the testing requirement once a facility goes two weeks without a positive test, is in line with new federal guidelines.

And Matt Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, has said that once a building has been clear for 14 days, additional tests are wasteful and counterproductive.

Doroghazi countered that this doesn't account for workers who may be infected but asymptomatic.

"They could touch every patient in that facility, not knowing that they're infected, and spread it around," she argued. "So, this testing is a proactive way to keep everybody safe."

The letter also criticized Lamont's decision to grant civil immunity to nursing homes from lawsuits that might stem from COVID-19.

In Doroghazi's view, that amounts to a "get-out-of-jail-free card."

"To say that facilities have civil immunity is saying, 'You know what? We don't need to learn from mistakes made during this time. And no matter how egregious those mistakes were, we're going to give you a pass for them,'" she stated.


Disclosure: AARP Connecticut contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Health Issues, Hunger/Food/Nutrition, Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021