Find out what happened at nursing homes

It took far too long for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to reverse course and require hospital patients to test negative for the coronavirus before they could be admitted to a nursing home. Similarly, the new mandate that nursing home staff be tested for COVID-19 twice a week should’ve happened long before now.

These moves finally could help nursing homes and adult-care facilities get a handle on the tragedy inside their doors.

Still, there is much we don’t know about how the coronavirus spread among our most vulnerable residents, what the true toll has been, and what must change. What we do know: There’ve been 5,453 confirmed or presumed COVID-19 deaths inside nursing and adult homes statewide. The state has reported 21,640 confirmed deaths from the virus.

The state’s initial order that required nursing homes to take COVID-19 patients may have done more harm than good by potentially spreading the virus through nursing homes that hadn’t had cases, or that lacked adequate equipment or the ability to isolate infected patients and test staff.

Many facilities found themselves in a deepening morass, where coronavirus cases spread through the population.

The full picture of just how bad it is, however, remains murky. Nassau and Suffolk counties have more than 1,200 confirmed and presumed COVID-19 deaths reported at nursing homes and adult facilities — but that doesn’t include deaths that occurred in hospitals. We don’t know how many positive cases the homes have, how many staff members tested positive, and how many residents died of the coronavirus but weren’t labeled as such because testing wasn’t available or because the facility used another cause of death, perhaps to limit the number attributable to the virus. The insufficiency of public data is unacceptable.

Families, too, say they aren’t getting information — about the homes or their loved ones. Nursing homes must find ways to connect family members with patients. Could visits be done with plexiglass or another barrier between family and patient? Perhaps a family member could be gowned and masked to have distanced time with a loved one. The state’s reopening efforts should include developing methods to allow families to reconnect with residents, and obtain more frequent updates.

There is also a need to look back. While nursing homes were in the crosshairs of this deadly virus, did so many of these residents have to die? New Yorkers must know what happened, what warnings and guidance state officials had, and what we can learn. This needs to be done as soon as possible in case a second wave hits this fall.

Start with joint virtual hearings by the State Legislature in various regions, to gather testimony in public. We need to hear from family members, staff, and patients themselves. We must see documents and data, and start getting answers to our many questions. State Attorney General Letitia James and the state Department of Health are investigating whether nursing home operators complied with Cuomo’s executive orders. An investigation must look not only at the homes’ actions, but the state’s actions, too.

— The editorial board