11 Victim Gap in State Vet Count

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Officials of the Pennsylvania agency that runs six nursing homes for veterans and their spouses has not reported all 26 of those coronavirus deaths apparently concluding that the reporting of 11 of those deaths are the responsibility of the hospitals where they finally died.
As of the end of last week Chester County Coroner Christina Vanderpol reported that 26 veterans residing at the Southeast Veterans Center had died from the Covid-19 virus.
At the same time officials of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs reported that only 15 veterans had died. The same figure was reported today by agency spokeswoman Joan Nissley.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, Nissley responded in an email* that "The facility where an individual dies is responsible for reporting the death. If a resident of a veterans home was transferred to a local hospital it would be the local hospital that would need to report the death."
Asked what veterans were included in the death counts issued by the agency over the past month, Nissley wrote,"We are counting our residents that have passed away at a veterans home or at a hospital that tested positive for Covid-19."
Asked whether some deceased veterans were being left out of the count, Nissley wrote, "The facility where the individual dies is responsible for reporting the death. If a resident of a veterans home was transferred to a local hospital it would be that local hospital that would need to report the death.
"With that said, we are reporting the number of veterans home residents that have passed away at a veterans home or at a hospital that tested positive for COVID-19," Nissley's email continued.
According to Nissley 33 staff members at the six veterans homes have tested positive and 14 of them have returned to work.
A total of 27 residents have tested positive, including the 15 who died, according to Nissley.

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