Chancellor Kent Syverud | Syracuse University
Chancellor Kent Syverud | Syracuse University
On Tuesday, Sept. 10, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will testify publicly before the House of Representatives' select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo’s administration has faced significant criticism for its handling of nursing home residents who contracted COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic. In March 2020, New York mandated that nursing homes must admit patients who tested positive for COVID-19.
For reporters covering the hearing and needing an expert perspective, Nina Kohn, a professor of law at Syracuse University College of Law and an expert in elder law and civil rights of the elderly, provided her insights.
“Former Governor Cuomo has been much criticized for directing nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients. While, especially in retrospect this was a bad policy decision, it is unclear to what extent it had an impact on resident deaths. The reality is many facilities would have accepted these individuals without a mandate because it was financially advantageous to do so,” said Kohn.
“Nevertheless, the direction signaled a lack of concern for the fate of nursing home residents—which was made even more evident by the breathtaking immunity the Governor supported for nursing homes and their owners. Under Cuomo’s leadership, nursing homes and their corporate owners were granted immunity from liability for harm to residents amid the pandemic. While many states provided some immunity for healthcare providers at the height of the pandemic, none were more expansive than New York. Indeed, New York’s measure was so extreme that it even limited the ability of the state’s Attorney General to hold institutions and executives liable for false or fraudulent claims or from prosecuting certain acts that could otherwise result in criminal charges,” added Kohn.
Kohn is a well-known expert on issues surrounding nursing homes and has been quoted in numerous articles. She has written several scholarly articles about COVID-19 and nursing homes including:
- Nursing Homes, COVID-19 and the Consequences of Regulatory Failure (Georgetown Law Journal)
- Using What We Have: How Existing Legal Authorities Can Help Fix America’s Nursing Home Crisis (William and Mary Law Review)
To schedule an interview with Nina Kohn, please contact Ellen James Mbuqe, executive director of media relations, at ejmbuqe@syr.edu.
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