BRANDON, Fla. — A Tampa Bay nursing home company is one of five being investigated by Congress for its number of COVID-19 related deaths.
Congress is demanding Consulate Health Care in Brandon send in documents and other information about its actions to protect vulnerable Americans in nursing homes.
Rep. James E. Clyburn, the Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, says the investigation comes after its June 11 briefing with health experts.
“The Subcommittee is concerned that lax oversight by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the federal government’s failure to provide testing supplies and personal protective equipment to nursing homes and long-term care facilities may have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus and the deaths of more than 40,000 Americans in these facilities,” Chairman Clyburn wrote. “Despite CMS’s broad legal authority, the agency has largely deferred to states, local governments, and for-profit nursing homes to respond to the coronavirus crisis.”
The subcommittee is asking for documents and information from each company related to coronavirus cases and deaths, testing, personal protective equipment, staffing levels and pay, legal violations, and efforts to prevent further infections.
You can find a full list of impacted facilities here.
Here is the letter that was sent to Consulate Health Care's CEO Chris Bryson:
10 Tampa Bay has reached out to Consulate Health Care for a statement and is waiting to hear back.
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