Andy Goodell
ALBANY – Chautauqua County’s representative in the State Assembly is joining the chorus of criticism against Governor Andrew Cuomo as he continues to be scrutinized and investigated for his handling of nursing home residents during the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The Post-Journal reported over the weekend that Assemblyman Andy Goodell (R-Ellicott) wants the chair of the Democratic-controlled Assembly’s Health Committee to look into why the state chose to send some patients recovering from COVID-19 back into nursing homes.
Goodell last week sent a letter to Richard Gottfried asking him to look into the reasons for the order. Gottfried was one of several Democrats involved with a private conference call with the governor’s top aid, Melissa DeRosa, earlier this month, when she acknowledged the governor’s office was delaying the release of data involving nursing home deaths caused by COVID-19.
The call has since gone public and a wave of elected officials on both sides of the aisle have called for an investigation into the matter, with some even saying the governor should be impeached and also criminally charged for obstruction of justice.
Goodell said the information being requested by legislators should have been available months ago, but the greatest concern is the need for the state Legislature to understand how an estimated 15,000 nursing home deaths were allowed to happen, so that it doesn’t occur again in the future.
Leave a Reply