State Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, intends to introduce legislation that would prohibit the state Department of Health from requiring nursing homes and other long-term facilities to admit infected patients.

On Tuesday, Dr. Rachel Levine called for testing in all those facilities to attempt to correct the situation. She said she believes Pennsylvania has enough tests to check all nursing home and personal care staff and all patients for the virus.

“Of course, if you test once, that’s not conclusive, because you could be negative one day and positive another,” she said. “But the retesting is going to be individualized … to the number of cases in the facility,” said Levine.

“It’s about time the DOH addressed this issue,” Heffley said. “We’re still going ahead with our proposal in case amendments are needed.”

Heffley’s concern is the safeguarding of the state’s most vulnerable population during the pandemic.

“Tragically, the coronavirus has severely impacted our senior population in Pennsylvania, and that impact is clear from the data surrounding positive cases and deaths associated with nursing homes,” Heffley said. “According to the latest statistics released by the department, 68% of the state’s COVID-19-related deaths have occurred in facilities that provide long-term care to older residents.

His proposal would require that a patient discharged from a hospital must test negative for COVID-19 prior to admission into a long-term care facility.

“The Department of Health’s current practice of forcing COVID-19-positive patients into nursing homes has proven to be disastrous,” Heffley added. “As we all do our part in the fight to ‘flatten the curve,’ it is imperative that the department establish sound guidelines to protect Pennsylvanians residing in personal-care facilities.”

Heffley suggested that patients who test positive can be housed in interim facilities before their re- admittance to nursing homes.

“East Stroudsburg University is currently a temporary place for nursing home patients who have tested positive. They can still receive medical care, but not yet return to their facility and possibly spread the infection.”

Heffley referred to Carbon County’s Weatherwood Nursing Home where 44 coronavirus cases and 12 deaths have been reported. Data from the counties other nursing homes have not been revealed.

He commented on the accuracy of the statewide data. “Somebody who gets an antibody test is technically counted positive when that should be counted as a tracking number.

“It’s important that we have the funds to purchase protective equipment for all the staff in these facilities as well,” Heffley added.

He mentioned that following the state guidelines is not a simple task in these homes.

“I can imagine it would be quite difficult to enforce the social distancing requirement with patients afflicted with Alzheimers.”

He called for better communication and more transparency with the state Department of Health, citing that correspondence sent through his office is often without a return response.

“During a pandemic, we shouldn’t be adversarial because everyone’s health is what matters.”

Levine questioned

The nursing home battle heated up this week as Levine was asked about her mother being moved from a nursing home to a hotel. She said her mother was in a personal care home, which is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services.

“My mother requested it and my sister and I as her children complied,” she said, adding, “My mother is 95 years old and very intelligent and more than competent to make her own decisions.”

This came after Sen. Doug Mastriano, a first-term Republican representing Franklin, Adams and a part of York counties, said Levine has committed the equivalent of policy malpractice in her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, specifically in her handling of the virus’s spread through nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. He called for her resignation.

Levine moved forward this week with the announcement that data on specific nursing homes will be released by the end of this week. By Sunday, Levine said daily updates will be included on cases, deaths and infected staff members.