During a time when the press corps covering the daily pandemic briefings from Governor Cuomo pursues the governor with unrelenting questions on the COVID-19 status of nursing home residents and PPE supplies, the death toll of elderly residents mounts in New York City and surrounding counties. Dutchess County announced this week (4/28/2020) a new testing program to test residents living in the 13 nursing homes within Dutchess County.

Citing an uptick in reported COVID-19 cases as a result of recent testing in Ulster County, Dutchess County will begin testing every nursing home resident, beginning with Wingate in Beacon. According to the county’s press release, testing in Ulster County “has heightened concerns about potential spread of coronavirus, as 96 out of 330 residents at two Ulster County nursing homes tested positive for COVID-19 – with many of these cases exhibiting no symptoms (asymptomatic) and the individuals had only been in contact with healthy residents and staff members.”

The number of reported deaths in nursing homes in Dutchess County is 13 people as of yesterday (4/29/2020), as reported by New York State on this daily nursing home tracker. The number of deaths of people in nursing homes or adult care facilities in Orange County is 92 people, and in Putnam County it is 12 people. In Nassau County, it is 424 people, and in Kings County it is 447 people, and in Bronx County it is 570.

Dutchess County will begin releasing testing data from the nursing homes, said Communications Director Colleen Pillus. According to state data, there have been six deaths at the Ferncliff Nursing Home. Any home that has fewer than five deaths is not published at this time by New York State, citing privacy concerns.

The State Of Nursing Homes During The Pandemic

Publications like ProPublica have been covering the story for some time, and recently published this story of a daughter who removed her father from Queens Adult Care Center after he showed symptoms and was being neglected by fearful staff members, according to the article. Reporters at Governor Cuomo’s briefings have been asking for weeks for COVID-19 statistics at nursing homes, which New York State only recently starting releasing. Each day that the statistics had not been made public, Governor Cuomo cited delays from the nursing homes who were overwhelmed with caring for their residents. The total number of deceased people from nursing homes in New York State is 3,688, as of 4/29/2020.

To illustrate how quickly COVID-19 can spread through a nursing home, which Governor Cuomo has likened to a fire spreading through dry grass, Deadline.com has been publishing updates about elderly residents living in The Actor’s Fund Home in Englewood, N.J., a home for retired entertainers, from actors of stage and screen to screenwriters, dancers, producers and directors. The home has been forthcoming to its families with email updates, and to the media. The facilities administrator told NJ Advance Media that as of 4/14/2020, the facility had 12 residents test positive. As of 4/21/2020, 10 residents had died from COVID-19, as reported by Deadline.com, although the first reported death from COVID-19 was recorded on 4/10/2020, according to Deadline.com. About 35 to 40 staff had tested positive, though there have been no reported deaths of employees.

Dutchess County Testing and PPE

County Executive Marcus Molinaro has petitioned Governor Cuomo for 2,000 test kits for Dutchess County’s newly formed Nursing Homes Task Force, according to the county’s press release. “As the initial pilot gets underway,” the press release said, “and as tests are made available from New York State, Dutchess County’s Nursing Home Task Force will collaborate with each of the nursing home facilities’ infection control specialist to plan for each facilities’ specific needs, including providing adequate PPE supplies for staff to ensure there is no cross contamination during testing.”

Testing staff members at the nursing homes will not be included in this targeted testing, “as testing kits are limited,” confirmed Communications Director Colleen Pillus to A Little Beacon Blog when asked for clarification. Reports from outbreaks happening in nursing homes across the state, like this one in Hornell, include a focus on staff members who test positive, as reported by the New York Post.

Currently in Dutchess County, nursing home residents are only being tested when they present symptoms, said Dutchess County’s Communication Director Colleen. Moving forward in this new pilot program, elderly residents will be tested once as opposed to an ongoing way, as testing results take time to come back, said Colleen. Of the 13 nursing homes, one nursing home - Wingate in Beacon - will be the pilot location for this new program.

Who Oversees Nursing Homes?

As explained by Governor Cuomo repeatedly during briefings, nursing homes are generally private institutions that need to follow licensing requirements from New York State. According to The Leader, New York State will open an investigation into nursing homes, led by Attorney General Letitia James, “which will focus on whether nursing homes and adult-care facilities appropriately followed state law and regulation as the coronavirus went on its torrid spread in New York,” stated the article.

According to Dutchess County’s press release on its new testing program program: “Although nursing homes are under the authority and oversight of the New York State Department of Health, County Executive Molinaro established Dutchess County’s Nursing Home Task Force, under the direction of Dutchess Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH), to be in regular contact with nursing home leadership. The Task Force keeps open lines of communications, offers guidance where appropriate, and helps facilities address concerns and emerging issues, convening weekly conference calls with nursing homes.”

The announcement went on to address PPE needs: “Among the pressing needs has been the provision of PPE supplies to meet heightened New York State Department of Health mandates for nursing homes. Dutchess County has worked closely with the nursing homes, providing isolation suits and gowns, eye protection, N95 respirators, surgical masks, as well as hand sanitizer.”

Mental Health Assistance Provided For Nursing Home Staff, By Dutchess County

County Executive Molinaro has a strong track record on mental health for this region. Mental health assistance has been created for employees working in nursing homes. According to the press release: “Staffing has also been a concern for nursing homes. Stress levels and fear for all essential employees remain high and there is always a concern about lack of staff availability should there be large numbers of staff who need to be quarantined. News of deaths in nursing homes in other areas of the state and nation creates anxiety for staff, patients, as well as their families.

”To help combat the extreme amount of stress this pandemic has placed upon nursing home and residential facility staff, County Executive Molinaro and Deputy Commissioner of DBCH Dr. Jacqueline M. Johnson have mobilized the Dutchess County Trauma Team to provide mental health support. This collaborative team of mental health and substance abuse professionals respond to unpredictable and extreme events in Dutchess County. Led by Dr. Ellen Marx, the team will provide an in-service to nursing home staff to discuss the range of emotions the pandemic causes in general, work-related frustration and anxiety, dealing with grief, the importance of self-care, and much more. Individuals are helped to review their situation, encouraged to express the wide range of emotions traumatic events bring up, and identify strengths and ways to cope.”

Nursing Homes in Dutchess County 

This list has been provided by Dutchess County:

ArchCare at Ferncliff (formerly Ferncliff Nursing Home)
21 Ferncliff Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572  (845) 876-2011    

The Baptist Home
46 Brookmeade Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572 (845) 876-2071    

Sapphire Wappingers Falls
37 S. Mesier Ave., Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 (800) 501-3936    

The Eleanor Nursing Care Center
419 North Quaker Lane, Hyde Park, NY 12538 (845) 229-9177    

Fishkill Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing
22 Robert R. Kasin Way, Beacon, NY 12508-1199 (800) 501-3936 

The Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation at Pawling
9 Reservoir Road, Pawling, NY 12564  (845) 855-5700  

The Grand Nursing and Rehabilitation at River Valley
140 Main St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 (845) 454-7600    

Lutheran Care Center at Concord Village
965 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 (845) 486-9494 x215    

Northern Dutchess Residential Healthcare Facility - The Thompson House
6525 Springbrook Ave., Rhinebeck, NY 12572  (845) 871-3760     

Renaissance Rehabilitation and Nursing Center
4975 Albany Post Road, Staatsburg, NY 12580 (845) 889-4500      

The Pines at Poughkeepsie
100 Franklin St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601  (845) 454-4100

Wingate at Beacon
10 Hastings Drive, Beacon, NY 12508  (845) 440-1600    

Wingate at Dutchess
3 Summit Court, Fishkill, NY 12524  (845) 896-1500