State Senator Dan Lauwers, a Brockway Township Republican who represents the 25th District, has announced that the Senate has appropriated $250,000 for county prosecutors to pursue investigations into the use of nursing homes to care for COVID-19 patients.
Nursing homes saw some of the highest rates of infection and death at the onset of the pandemic. The policy of moving convalescing COVID-19 patients into nursing homes has been a point of contention between Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and the Republican State Legislature for the past year.
In his Legistative Update, Lauwers said, “The families who have lost loved ones during the pandemic deserve to have closure. The governor’s failed policies are responsible for forcing our most vulnerable residents into living spaces with seniors who have tested positive for COVID-19. Our seniors now account for at least one-third of our state’s COVID-19 deaths.”
Senate Bill 27, introduced by Senator Jim Stamas of the 36th District, is an appropriations bill that will now move on to the House.
The Governor’s Office and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services have consistently maintained that proper protocols were followed.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
