Yesterday the employees of Linden Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, located at 2237 Linden Boulevard between Ashford and Cleveland Streets, participated in a press conference with community activists for East New York, to demand the dead bodies of COVId-19 related deaths be removed immediately from the facility.
Chris Banks, Rev. Kevin McCall and Nikki Lucas were there in support of the employees and the families of the deceased, whose bodies remained in the facility during the press conference.
“We are getting calls that dead bodies are piled up in the same room as patients in the Linden Nursing Home. This is very hazardous & it must be addressed immediately”, stated Community Activist Chris Banks.
As the bodies began to pile up inside the nursing home the staff was reportedly given directions, according to a nursing home employee, to turn up the air conditioner and open the windows to keep the smell of death from spreading. Another staffer said more than 25 people passed away over the past month.
“How can we stop the spread of Covid-19 when dead bodies are being stored in rooms instead of being removed. No patient should be in harms way of dead bodies. This is America not a third world country”, stated Civil Rights Activist Rev. Kevin McCall.
Nikki Lucas, Outreach Director, Senior Outreach Services of New York added, “I’m saddened to learn of the alleged unconscionable conditions that both the patients and the healthcare workers have endured especially throughout this pandemic . The actions taken by owners and management are unethical and affects the entire community. Our friends, neighbors, grandparents and loved ones who put their trust in this facility to care for them are feeling betrayed by the bad practices of management and ownership.”
Lucas added, “I want to commend the courage of the nurses and other healthcare workers who stood by the mission of their titles and roles to come forward in partnership with community leaders not only to deliver transparency but to correct the wrong that has been implemented by this facility. This also serves as an open request to Attorney General Letitia James to open an investigation on this facility as well as run quality control on all nursing facilities.”
According to an article in the Brooklyn Paper, Richard Brum, the counsel for the Allure Group, which owns the center, stated “Linden Center has an adequate supply of PPE, and we have reached an agreement with the union to provide hazard pay for our employees beyond what is required by their collective bargaining agreement. Arrangements have been made for a temporary morgue at the facility which will help alleviate the backlog at local morgues and funeral homes. Like all medical facilities on the front lines, Linden Center is treating Covid-19 patients as required by the Department of Health. We are doing everything in our power to provide critical care to the vulnerable and protect our brave staff and residents.”
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