NEW YORK – New York’s Attorney General is calling for stronger protections for nursing home workers across the state.

Attorney General Letitia James joined union leaders on Monday. James says nursing homes were devastated by the pandemic, claiming the lives of thousands of residents and essential workers who worked throughout the crisis.

She highlighted a 2021 report that found revealed that many nursing homes were ill-equipped and ill-prepared to deal with this crisis because of poor staffing levels and a lack of compliance with infection control protocols, which put residents and workers at increased risk of harm.

As a result, she, alongside other advocates, are renewing their push to implement appropriate staff-to-resident ratios and invest in employee wages and facility operations.

“For more than two years, these essential workers have worked around the clock to protect and provide for our most vulnerable residents,” said Attorney General James in a statement. “As the pandemic devastated our communities, it became painfully clear that our healthcare industry was ill-equipped to deal with such a crisis. Chronic understaffing, lack of infection control protocols, and poor training contributed to the tragic deaths of nursing home residents and workers alike. These essential workers laid down their lives for the rest of us, and it’s time for us to give them the support they need and deserve.”

Since March 2020, Attorney General James has been investigating nursing homes throughout New York state based on allegations of patient neglect and other concerning conduct that may have jeopardized the health and safety of residents and employees.