Port Jeff Dad Asks Cuomo For Help Protecting Son W/ Down Syndrome

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — Richard Hoey, a Port Jefferson resident, on Friday sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo requesting he mandate state-run long-term care facilities to boost safety measures in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. While Hoey doesn't live in a residential home himself, someone dear to him does: his 21-year-old son, Kevin, who has Down syndrome, low-functioning autism, behavioral disorders, is developmentally delayed and is in a wheel chair.

Kevin lives in a Central Islip home run by United Cerebral Palsy of Long Island, an organization certified by the state agency Office for People With Developmental Disabilities.

In his letter, Richard urged Cuomo to follow the lead of Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, who said nursing homes would be audited for compliance with a new set of care criteria after an additional $130 million in aid was allotted to their fight against COVID-19 in late April. This includes mandatory testing of staff and residents, a 28-point infection control check-list and adherence to personal protective equipment requirements, State House News Service reported. Massachusetts would also make $44 million in additional funds available to residential congregate homes, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said.

"The only way to protect Kevin and the others is to test the children and staff, and they do that on a regular basis, so they’ll know what they have," Richard Hoey told Patch. "They’ll know who’s sick and not sick, and they can be separated accordingly."

New York nursing homes account for about 25 percent of the state’s coronavirus deaths, the New York Times reported. Richard expressed concerns that residential homes face a similar situation regarding the vulnerability of the population inside.

"People like my son Kevin have no idea about covering their mouth when they cough or sneeze, nor do any other children in the residence with him," he said. "He has no idea about not putting his hands in his mouth, nor do any other children in the residence he’s in."

Richard called for testing in both residential and nursing homes to see which residents and staff have the coronavirus. If a staff member is sick, he or she should be tested regularly, he said — at least once a week.

All UCP of Long Island residential homes follow guidance from the state and Department of Health regarding the coronavirus, including the checking of temperatures and symptoms, and following all appropriate PPE requirements, Colleen Crispino, president and CEO of UCP of Long Island, said.

The state does not require staff to be routinely tested, Crispino said.

"They do require certain symptom checks and temperature checks," she said. "We’re following all of those. And if someone does have symptoms, obviously, they’re sent home until they’re cleared by a physician to return."

The state can conduct an expected 40,000 tests a day, Cuomo said at his April 25 news conference. All first responders, front-line health care workers and essential workers can now be tested for the coronavirus.

"My understanding is the head government officials such as the president’s people, I presume the governor’s people, and the governor himself, are tested once a week, if not more, to make sure they don’t get each other sick," Richard said. "They can do that in nursing homes right now. They can do that in residential sectors, where my son is, right now. They have enough tests to do it. Let’s do it. Let’s not sit on our hands and wait for more people to die, who are completely defenseless."

With Kevin having turned 21 in April, he'll have to go to an adult residential home sometime this year, Richard said. Still, he called upon Cuomo to take "immediate" action.

"I believe the governor can write that executive order tomorrow," Richard said. "In a week or less, they would be able to execute a plan that would start down a road to correcting this."

Cuomo's press office has not responded to Patch's request for comment.