LI Retirement Home Ramps Up Testing As New State Info Is Released

GREENPORT, NY — After weeks of pleas by families asking for across-the-board testing at Peconic Landing, a retirement community where cases of the new coronavirus have been reported and caused nine deaths, the facility said Friday that testing had ramped up.

That news came on the same day as information was released by the New York State Department of Health on coronavirus in nursing homes statewide — and Gov. Andrew 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 fail to give the information, those facilities would face fines, he said.

According to the data released by the NYSDOH, which listed nursing homes with five deaths or more, least 1,109 nursing home residents have died from the virus in New York, including 123 in Suffolk County and 122 in Nassau County. New York City saw 680 deaths.

Nineteen 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, The Associated Press reported. Nursing homes had until 2 p.m. Thursday to respond.

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 Goldman & Associates Public Relations, the firm that began handling press inquiries for the facility as of this week. Previously, Peconic Landing had answered all media requests directly.

According to Dean Goldman, Goldman & Associates Public Relations and spokesperson for Peconic Landing: “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 the work environment of our team members and out of respect for the personal privacy of everyone here, we are not providing details on individuals’ health status or care processes. We are entirely committed to the wellbeing and safety of our community.”

When asked Wednesday 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.

Governor issues executive order mandating nursing homes give information

Cuomo was asked Friday about at least one family who had reported requesting information from an unnamed nursing home in New York and been "stonewalled." He was also asked about whether nursing homes could deny readmission to someone who had tested positive; some families had reportedly asked why those individuals could not be sent to alternate locations or why negative test results could not be required before an individual could return to a facility.

Howard Zucker, Commissioner of Health for New York State, said at a press briefing with Cuomo Friday that those who live in nursing homes and go to the hospital want to go back to the nursing homes, which are "their homes," he said.

Zucker said the goal has been to distribute personal protective equipment to nursing homes and make sure protocols are being followed. There is also a video system that would allow officials to go through nursing homes remotely and make sure all necessary precautions are being taken, he said.

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, Zucker said personal privacy has been key; the new report 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.

On Friday, 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.