Bed-Stuy Nursing Homes Had Unreported Covid Deaths: New Data

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN —New data shows that the coronavirus has taken an even more severe toll on New York's nursing homes than the state's past disclosures had indicated — including dozens of previously unreported deaths at facilities near Bed-Stuy.

The updated data released Saturday now includes nursing home residents who died from COVID-19 at hospitals, in addition to deaths that occurred in each facility.

In and near Bed-Stuy, four nursing homes saw their official death counts rise as a result of the newly reported fatalities. More than a dozen facilities throughout all of Central Brooklyn saw their numbers rise.

The biggest increase in the borough was at Sheepshead Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where 50 residents died in hospitals, the second-most of any nursing home in the state. The nursing home previously had only reported nine coronavirus deaths.

The new disclosures came about a week after Attorney General Letitia James released a report alleging that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration had undercounted thousands of nursing home deaths, in part because the state was not counting residents who died in hospitals.

Here is the data for nursing home deaths in or near Bed-Stuy, through Feb. 4:

Concord Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Bed-Stuy:

• Out-of-facility deaths among residents (hospital or other): 3
• Confirmed COVID-19 deaths at nursing home: 5
• Presumed COVID-19 deaths at nursing home: 9
• Total deaths: 17

Brooklyn Gardens Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Bed-Stuy:

• Out-of-facility deaths among residents (hospital or other): 6
• Confirmed COVID-19 deaths at nursing home: 1
• Presumed COVID-19 deaths at nursing home: 7
• Total deaths: 14

Bedford Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in South Williamsburg

• Out-of-facility deaths among residents (hospital or other): 2
• Confirmed COVID-19 deaths at nursing home: 9
• Presumed COVID-19 deaths at nursing home:
• Total deaths: 19

Buena Vida Continuing Care and Rehab Center in Bushwick:

• Out-of-facility deaths among residents (hospital or other): 14
• Confirmed COVID-19 deaths at nursing home: 0
• Presumed COVID-19 deaths at nursing home: 5
• Total deaths: 19

After James's report was released on Jan. 28, Cuomo's health commissioner, Howard Zucker, defended the state's practices, noting that the more than 4,000 nursing home residents who died in hospitals were already included in the state's overall count.

Then, last Thursday, a state judge ordered the Department of Health to release data on in-hospital deaths among nursing home residents. Two days later, the state added those deaths to its totals, bringing the official death toll at New York's nursing homes to more than 13,000.

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.