Lawmaker Urges Governor To Change Nursing Home Policy

nesbitt23223
nesbitt23223

Just hours after the Michigan House on Thursday approved a resolution opposing Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s policies on nursing homes during the coronavirus pandemic, the Michigan Senate followed suit. State Senator Aric Nesbitt tells WSJM News state policies have resulted in non-sick nursing home residents being exposed to COVID.

“It’s very similar to what New York and Connecticut and New Jersey did, which essentially forced nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients,” Nesbitt said. “She created what was called a hub system, and really put COVID-positive patients in the same nursing homes as COVID-negative patients. This is at the same time when we had large field hospitals in Detroit and Novi.”

Nesbitt says we’ve known since the beginning that the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions are the most vulnerable to COVID-19. He notes legislation is being drafted to force a change to the policy, but also says unless the Legislature can override the governor’s veto, it probably won’t have much of an effect.