A resolution co-sponsored by Rep. Jason Wentworth – opposing nursing home policies which have put the lives of Michigan’s most vulnerable in danger during the COVID-19 pandemic – was approved today by the state House.

Gov. Whitmer continues with a plan that places COVID-19 patients into long-term care facilities, putting individuals who have tested positive and remain contagious under the same roof as healthy residents. The irresponsible and misguided policy remains in place even though one-third of all COVID-19 deaths in Michigan have been nursing home residents.

“This wasn’t just a mistake – this was a fatal error in judgement,” Wentworth said. “Yet the governor continues to defend her dangerous actions that have put the health and safety of our state’s most vulnerable in jeopardy. Our grandparents, mothers, fathers and spouses are not expendable. We should be protecting our loved ones from COVID-19, not bringing COVID-19 into their homes. This irresponsible policy never should have been implemented in the first place and it must end immediately.”

Senior citizens, especially those with underlying health conditions, are particularly vulnerable to severe complications of the deadly coronavirus. Yet under the governor’s policy, nursing homes without dedicated units to isolate and tend to COVID-19 patients are required to send them to regional hubs – a separate nursing home which has been approved by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. A June 15 executive order continues to require regional hubs to accept COVID-19 patients.

Wentworth continues to join his colleagues in the Legislature in calling for the administration to release more information related to this policy, which the governor has acknowledged is flawed.

“Nursing homes were never meant to serve as COVID-19 wards,” Wentworth said. “I’m standing up for our voiceless and calling for the governor to put an end to this policy. We are better than this and should be working together to implement sensible policies that keep our loved ones safe.”

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