Fox News’ Dean backs probe of bug nursing home deaths

ALBANY — Having lost her in-laws to coronavirus, Fox News’ Janice Dean joined lawmakers in Albany on Wednesday to push legislation creating an independent commission to investigate the state’s nursing home deaths.

Dean (inset) and others called for the passage of a bipartisan bill sponsored by state Sen. James Tedisco (R-Glenville) and Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens) that would establish a panel with subpoena power to perform a review of the more than 6,400 deaths reported in New York’s elder care facilities at the height of the pandemic.

“I am grateful and honored to be part of this call for the passage of bipartisan legislation for an independent investigation ...,” Dean said. “It’s the stories of the families who have experienced the greatest loss in this pandemic that can help us uncover what really happened.”

Critics have accused New

York of undercounting nursing home deaths because unlike most other states with major outbreaks, the Empire State doesn’t include residents who were transported to hospitals and died there.

State health officials were grilled by lawmakers this month about the counting as well as a policy that compelled nursing homes to accept COVID-19-positive seniors at the height of the crisis and an in-house report that absolved officials.

Gov. Cuomo, who said last week an independent investigation was not needed, defended the counting methods Wednesday. “Well then you would have to reduce the hospital deaths, and you are attributing a death to a nursing home when it didn’t occur in the nursing home, it occurred in the hospital,” he said. “If you died in a nursing home, it’s called a nursing home death. If you die in a hospital, it’s called a hospital death. It doesn’t say where were you before.”