She was warned and still sent Michigan elderly with COVID to nursing homes to infect others and eventually to their deaths.  Just three days, March 13th, after the first COVID-19 case in Michigan, Governor Whitmer was warned by Melissa Samuel, president and CEO of the Health Care Association of Michigan about the harm this disease will bring to the nursing homes in Michigan.  Ms. Samuel’s organization represents 353 elderly facilities in Michigan.

The Detroit News is reporting that Ms. Samuel sent a letter to Governor Whitmer and gave her professional opinion that the state should use empty facilities as quarantine centers to:

Avoid widespread infection

Governor Whitmer ignored or declined her advice.

The question that must be investigated and answered is why Governor Whitmer declined the advice of Ms. Samuel which led to the death of approximately 2,000 and climbing elderly residents in Michigan and 20 staff members.  Those 2,000 nursing home patients represent over 1/3 of the COVID-19 deaths in Michigan.

Samuel was asked if she knew why Governor Whitmer refused her advice, she said:

I think it’s something that should have been explored...Maybe they did do that, and it wasn’t shared with us.

In fact not only did Whitmer ignore that advice she actually decided to go the other direction and issued an Executive Order (EO) that required facilities at less than 80% capacity to take in COVID-19 patients.  She did specify that the COVID-19 infected residents be housed in separate wings but the Bridge magazine reported inspections found that many nursing homes did not meet the state standards as well as did not have the ability to meet state standards.

I thought the Detroit News came up with some great questions for Whitmer to be asked and answered with more than just her usual platitudes, they are:

  • Why didn't she react when reports of escalating nursing home deaths first began coming in? 
  • Did the administration pause at any point to assess the impact of its policy? 
  • What science and data was used to inform the executive order? 
  • Does she have solid reasons for not following the lead of other states in changing her orders?

I would add:

  • When she was informed that her executive order was killing nursing home residents and staff at an alarming rate why did you not react to those facts and numbers and attempt to save these residents and staff?

Wonder why Whitmer refused to participate in a United States House probe into nursing home deaths nationwide, she was part of the problem.

Governor Whitmer you kept telling us you were saving lives at the same time your executive order was actually taking lives.

How could you in good conscience send all of those infected people to spread the disease and death at the nursing homes when we knew very early on that it would affect the elderly at a much deadly rate?

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