“Forgive me if I get emotional,” McGuire said, choking up. “People discount people with disabilities and presume they understand them when they don’t know them. They think their lives are not worth the same as yours or mine, and that’s just not true.”
NEW YORK — The call came on March 24. Bob McGuire, the executive director of CP Nassau, a nonprofit group that cares for the developmentally disabled, received a report from a four-story, colonnaded building in Bayville, New York, that houses several dozen residents with severe disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to autism. For many of them, discussions of social distancing or hand-washing are moot.Fevers were spreading. Within 24 hours, 10 residents were taken to the hospital.
Separately, a study by a large consortium of private service providers found that residents of group homes and similar facilities in New York City and surrounding areas were 5.34 times more likely than the general population to develop COVID-19 and 4.86 times more likely to die from it. What’s more, nearly 10% of the homes’ residents were displaying COVID-like symptoms but had not yet been tested, according to the consortium, New York Disability Advocates.
“One of the individuals here is positive, and his behavior is to get up, to pace, and he wants to give me a hug, shake my hand,” said one of the caregivers, asking that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak. “They’ve refused to tell us anything,” he said, then added: “I’m a realist. COVID is all over the place.”
Jennifer O’Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, the state agency overseeing the residences, said in a statement that it had “activated our emergency response team to closely monitor all reports of possible contact within our system across the state.” “I have concerns about many of the individuals on my caseload being exposed on the buses and at their day programs,” the nurse wrote. “Are we looking at keeping people home? I was surprised that everyone went to program today as normal!”
On March 24, he quarantined CP Nassau’s group home in Bayville, a village on the North Shore of Long Island. Staff members were asked to report “with toothbrushes and pillows and hunker down,” he said. “Normal was gone. Our staff are usually called direct service providers; all of a sudden they were lifted up to being essential health care workers.”
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
New York coronavirus deaths hit record high three days in a row; hospitalizations downThe good news: Hospitalization rates in New York are down, falling to a new low and the curve of cases is starting to flatten.
Consulte Mais informação »
New York sees drop in new hospitalizations, deaths keep risingNew York state saw a sharp drop in the number of people newly admitted to a hospital in the past 24 hours to the lowest level since the coronavirus outbreak began, a sign that social distancing steps were working, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.
Consulte Mais informação »
New York bringing in more funeral directors as death toll hits new highNew York state had 799 deaths from coronavirus in one day, its highest daily toll yet in the pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will bring in additional funeral directors 'to deal with the number of people who have passed.'
Consulte Mais informação »
New York coronavirus outbreak originated in Europe, new study findsA new study has found evidence that the first COVID-19 cases in New York City originated in Europe and occurred as early as February.
Consulte Mais informação »
A Look At The New Nightlife In New York City During The Coronavirus PandemicWith non-essential businesses closed and people ordered to stay home, the city that never sleeps has dramatically slowed down.
Consulte Mais informação »
California ventilators head to New York, New Jersey, other statesWATCH: California sends ventilators to New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, Nevada, and Washington D.C. New Jersey Gov. Murphy: 'We will repay the favor when California needs it.'
Consulte Mais informação »