10th Death Reported At Peconic Landing As State Inspections Begin

GREENPORT, NY — A 10th death has been reported at Peconic Landing, but officials at the facility said they will no longer confirm information on specific cases.

A letter addressed to family members and dated April 22 was sent to Patch from a man whose mother lives at the facility: "It is with great sadness that we report the passing of one of our members in Harbor North on Tuesday evening. Out of respect for the family, we provide the following information: The member was a 90-year-old woman who had preexisting medical conditions and was asymptomatic for COVID-19 but had tested positive," the letter, signed by Gregory J. Garret, COO/administrator of health services, said.

Garrett also wrote that Peconic Landing has been "working diligently to identify and isolate potential cases of COVID-19 on our campus. We have been testing various groups of individuals who are asymptomatic in areas that have not already been exposed to the virus in an effort to prevent spread to these areas. We identified members in Harbor North who tested positive for COVID-19 but were displaying no symptoms."

When asked by Patch about the 10th reported death, Peconic Landing responded through spokesperson Dean Goldman of Goldman & Associates Public Relations, a Virginia-based firm: “The community is home to its members and the work environment of team members. Out of respect for the personal privacy of everyone at the community, details are not being provided on individuals’ health status or care processes. Peconic Landing is entirely committed to the wellbeing and safety of the community.”

State to inspect nursing homes

Also on Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that he was directing all nursing homes to report to the New York State Department of Health all actions they had taken to comply with the DOH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The DOH, he said, will inspect all facilities that have not complied with separation and staffing policies or that have inadequate supplies of personal protective equipment.

If the DOH determines that the facility has not complied, they will be required to create an action plan and if that is not followed, the facility could face a fine of $10,000 per violation or risk losing their operating license, Cuomo said.

"Nursing homes have been our top priority since Day 1," Cuomo said. While many are private facilities, he said, they must follow certain rules and regulations during the coronavirus crisis, including have the appropriate PPE; allowing no visitors; isolating COVID-10 patients in quarantine; having separate staff for coronavirus patients; transferring coronavirus patients to another long-term care facility if adequate care cannot be provided on-site; notifying family of residents within 24 hours if a person is diagnosed or dies; and readmitting COVID-19 positive patients back into the facility only if they have the ability to provide an adequate level of care under DOH and CDC guidance.

"They are paid to take care of residents," Cuomo said. The state, he added, is partnering with New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate violations of executive orders.

Cuomo added that "nothing went wrong" at nursing homes or hospitals. "Mother Nature brought a virus that attacks old people. Nobody is to blame for the creation of this situation but we have to deal with it," he said.

When asked if any nursing homes had objected to possibly having to transfer patients, Cuomo said: "They don't have the right to object. They have to comply. That is the rule; it is also your legal obligation. You have residents, you get paid — and if you can't provide adequate care they must be transferred."

When asked about Cuomo's new directives, Peconic Landing responded through Goldman: “At Peconic Landing, protecting health and safety is absolutely the top priority. The community continues to carry out the extensive protocols and care practices designed in collaboration with its board-certified physician medical director to safeguard the community. In addition, Peconic Landing is meeting all reporting requirements to members and family members as set by New York State Department of Health."

No further information on specific cases

Peconic Landing had previously reported nine deaths and a number of coronavirus cases among residents and staff members, but said in recent days that it would no longer be providing the community with updates on whether additional members or staff have died, been confirmed positive, or recovered, representatives of the facility said.

Peconic Landing has officially confirmed nine deaths but two reports of data released by New York State, the most recently on Wednesday, on the number of deaths at nursing homes listed the facility as having six.

Patch asked Peconic Landing recently if there had been any additional deaths, new cases, or resolved cases.

The same response came from Goldman: "Protecting health and safety is absolutely our top priority. We continue to carry out the extensive protocols and care practices designed in collaboration with our board-certified physician medical director to safeguard our community. Peconic Landing is our members' home and out of respect for the personal privacy of everyone here, we are not providing details on individuals' health status. We are entirely committed to the wellbeing and safety of our community."

Testing ramps up at Peconic Landing

Last week, after weeks of pleas by families asking for across-the-board testing at Peconic Landing, the facility said testing had ramped up.

That news came on the same day as information was released by the New York State Department of Health on the number of deaths reported due to coronavirus in nursing homes statewide — and Cuomo said he was signing an executive order that would mandate nursing homes give information to families whose loved ones might have coronavirus. If they failed to give the information, those facilities would face fines, he said.

New date released this week on nursing home deaths

According to new data released by the NYSDOH Wednesday which listed nursing homes with five deaths or more, at least 2,902 nursing home residents have died from the virus in New York, including 281 in Suffolk County and 291 in Nassau County.

Twenty-two of the state's nursing homes have each had at least 20 deaths linked to the pandemic, including a nursing home in Brooklyn that saw 55 deaths. Four in the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island saw more than 40.

The list was based on a survey sent by the state seeking details.

Peconic Landing in Greenport was listed in the state report as having six deaths — but previously reported to the public on April 5 that a total nine residents had died from the COVID-19 disease.

A request by Patch for clarification on the discrepancy between the six deaths reported by the NYSDOH and the nine reported by Peconic Landing was answered by Goldman with the same response he gave both times above.

When asked last week if there had been any additional deaths, new cases, or resolved cases, a spokesperson said it was no longer providing details on individuals' health status out of respect for residents' personal privacy.

Families at some nursing homes being "ignored"

The NYSDOH, Cuomo said, has put out guidance saying that nursing homes should inform families if their loved one has coronavirus or provide information on the situation at the individual facility.

"What we found out is that's being ignored," in some cases, Cuomo said. He said he is signing the executive order mandating the reporting of that information; violators will face civil penalties, he said.

Ideally, Cuomo said, the goal would be to test every person before they enter a nursing home with a saliva test. So far, not enough tests are available to do that, he said.

Regarding the new data released from the NYSDOH, New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker said personal privacy has been key; the date released includes only nursing homes with deaths of five or more. "This data is reported directly from the nursing homes themselves," he said.

"We only know what they tell us," Cuomo said.

Expanded testing at Peconic Landing

For weeks, families of Peconic Landing members asked for expanded coronavirus testing at the facility.

Initially, Peconic Landing President and CEO Robert Syron told Patch in an exclusive interview that it was just not possible.

"We don't have the ability. We wish we could,"he said. "There just aren't enough tests. I have no control over it. If I could write a check to have every person tested, I would have written it."

The New York State Department of Health determines who is tested, he added.

Last week, Peconic Landing sent out a press release from its public relations firm stating that expanded testing had begun.

"Peconic Landing has been working diligently to identify and isolate potential cases of COVID-19 on campus. As many government officials have stated, testing is key to containing the virus, as are the extensive protective measures we have been taking," the release said.

When the coronavirus was first detected in the country, testing was limited only to individuals who had direct exposure to someone who tested positive and to those who displayed a number of symptoms specific to COVID-19, Peconic Landing's representative said. Individuals who were asymptomatic did not have access to testing, the release added.

"Over the course of the last several weeks we have worked with a number of county and state government officials as well as private labs in an effort to have the ability to expand testing on our campus regardless of symptoms," Peconic Landing said. "We have identified an out-of-state private lab with the capabilities to provide testing for our members and team members. We advocated on its behalf to allow it to provide testing in New York State."

While Peconic Landing was awaiting that approval, officials there developed a plan of execution which included specific tiers of testing groups, identifying the appropriate internal health care professionals who are permitted by law to administer the tests, and the process for sending out the tests for results, the release said.

"This testing is not billable to insurance companies; therefore we are paying for this testing directly," Peconic Landing said.

"Our plans came to fruition last week and we have begun testing the various tier groups," Peconic Landing said.

The initial tiers are focused in areas that have not already been exposed to the virus in an effort to prevent spread to those areas, the release said. If a team member is identified as positive, they are immediately placed on mandatory paid leave for the entirety of their required quarantine; if a member tests positive, they are notified of their results and enhanced PPE protocols are put in place, Peconic Landing said.

"For our members who are managing their own care, we ask if they would allow us to notify their family. If a member who manages their own care does not give us permission to share their results, we are bound by law to abide by their wishes. We are contacting the families directly for those members who have an acting health care proxy in place due to their loved ones inability to manage their own care," the release said.

As Peconic Landing's testing capabilities increase, so will the ability to test more members and team members, the release said.

"Many downstate long-term care providers are not testing at all as they are following New York State Department of Health guidance regarding testing in their communities," the release said.

"We believe this expanded testing is the right thing to do to help contain the virus, coupled with our other extensive protective measures," said Syron, president and CEO of Peconic Landing. "I stated several weeks ago that if I could write a check to obtain testing, I would, and we have now been able to make this crucial step happen."

Requests for comment by Patch about how many members and staff had been tested so far, how many new confirmed cases had been reported, and if there had been any new deaths related to coronavirus, were not immediately returned.

After a per diem employee tested positive at Peconic Landing, the facility's staff, including Syron, reached out on March 11 to explain what precautions were being taken — and outline next steps.

From that date, Peconic Landing was giving daily updates on its website about the number of patients who had died and what areas of the facility members diagnosed with coronavirus lived in.

Cuomo said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had developed new guidelines for reporting fatalities and updated numbers would be given regarding how many patients who died had been intubated. Nursing homes and senior facilities would be contacted, he said, to garner additional information on how many had died there.

Also, Cuomo said, there may be other deaths that have not yet been counted because they did not die in a hospital or nursing home, but at home.

Although there was no information given on specific coronavirus patients, Peconic Landing did update its website recently with other information on how the facility is faring in the face of coronavirus.

In the post, Peconic Landing officials thanked members, team members, families and the greater community for their extraordinary support and cooperation "as the region and nation continue to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. Protecting everyone here is our highest priority and we are absolutely committed to this mission. Our COVID-19 practices have been developed in close collaboration with Peconic Landing's Medical Director Dr. Nathanael Desire and Stony Brook University Hospital in accordance with the guidelines provided by the New York State Department of Health and the CDC. Dr. Desire is board-certified in internal medicine and specializes in primary care and geriatric consultation."

Peconic Landing then listed its "extensive safety protocols," including keeping the campus closed to nonessential staff and visitors; self-isolation of independent members in their cottages, patio homes and apartments; monitoring members for symptoms; screening team members twice daily; utilizing personal protective equipment; and maintaining a six-foot distance from members and employees, including during deliveries of groceries, meals, and other items.

Peconic Landing's case management team, led by Dr. Desire and the facility's nurse practitioner, carefully monitors any members displaying any sign of illness daily and visits members for medical evaluations, donning PPE as needed, the site said.

In the health center, team members don gloves, masks, and any other PPE necessary while providing patient care; team members are screened prior to and at the end of each shift, Peconic Landing said. Team members are assigned to specific areas and healthcare employees are not being shared between levels of care, the site said. In addition, Peconic Landing's case management team continues to be available to provide support to our members in independent living.

"We also continue to offer bereavement and other counseling for members," Peconic Landing said.

Peconic Landing said it continues to communicate with members via multiple platforms and provide daily updates through an in-house TV channel, where cultural, educational, physical and spiritual programming is also offered.

Some members are sharing expertise and talents by virtually contributing to the enriching content.

"We are encouraging members to stay in frequent touch with their families, friends and neighbors through video chats and other means of communication. While our members know they can contact our team members at any time with questions or needs, we are also keeping in touch with them on an ongoing basis for conversation and friendship," the site said.

Donations of PPE supplies are still needed, including face masks, gowns, non-latex gloves, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and other related supplies. To donate, contact Diane Radigan, director of member services, at dradigan@peconiclanding.org.

To send well wishes to members and team members, email wellwishes@peconiclanding.org.

"Our region, nation and globe are being challenged in a way that was unfathomable just a short while ago. During this time, the unwavering dedication and compassion of our team members and the strength of spirit of our members both awe and inspire us. They are the beacon lighting the way for our campus and the greater community. We express our very deepest appreciation to them and to all who know and care about Peconic Landing," said Syron.