New warning about the 'dire' impact of the 'climate crisis' on nursing homes
The USA Today used a Senate committee report on nursing home deaths from the February 2021 ice storm to warn about the "dire" impact of the "climate crisis." The report from the Senate Finance Committee and Senate Special Committee on Aging on "The impact of the 2021 Texas Blackout on Long-Term Care Residents and the Need to Improve Emergency Preparedness" did not make climate change a major focus, but reporter Ken Alltucker's article did. The USA Today piece was titled "US nursing homes aren't safe amid climate crisis, report finds. And it's getting worse." and the subheading said, "A Senate report examines the dire situation and what the worsening climate crisis means for the nation's vulnerable adults." Alltucker wrote that the report "highlights the risks confronting medically vulnerable adults and disabled residents during climate change-driven extreme heat or cold, floods, tornadoes or wildfires," while admitting that wasn't the focus. MSNBC, CNN GIVE STRAIGHT NEWS ON CALIFORNIA GRID ISSUES AFTER PANNING TEXAS OVER WINTER BLACKOUT The results, Alltucker wrote, should lead to "calls for greater urgency amid climate crisis." "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden said emergency preparedness is pivotal because homes that care for vulnerable residents will face greater challenges as the climate crisis leads to an increase in severe weather events," he wrote. Wyden was quoted, "This report is a case study of just one in an increasing number of circumstances where elderly or infirm Americans are subjected to difficult conditions due to severe weather. Whether its a winter storm, hurricane or wildfire, more must be done to ensure long-term care facilities are adequately prepared to handle these events and care for their residents." CHATGPT CONFESSION: GLOBAL WARMING? NOT MUCH SINCE 2016 Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., claimed in the article that the latest reports should be "warning signs" for dealing with climate crises in the future. "As we experience more frequent and catastrophic climate disasters, long-term care facilities must be better prepared to protect residents living there," Casey told USA Today. Alltucker also quoted David Dosa, a Brown University professor, who warned about the impact of climate change disasters on nursing home patients. ED BEGLEY JR. SAYS ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM HURT HIS ACTING CAREER: I GAVE PEOPLE THE CREEPS "[Dosa] cited the example of 19 deaths at Lafon nursing home in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Emergency management crews were in the parking lot of the facility as people died," Alltucker wrote. "People died in that facility literally right under their nose," Dosa was quoted as saying. "These are just very vulnerable people who, unfortunately, get subjected to this kind of climate change event and don't do well." Mainstream media outlets and Democratic figures have frequently blamed climate change for several issues, some of which did not involve weather disasters. In Oct. 2022, the Washington Post weather reporter Amudalat Ajasa suggested that extreme temperatures caused by climate change can cause people to engage in "hate speech and hostile behavior." In Aug. 2022, CBS published a study claiming that "climate change, specifically warmer temperatures is making our children more inactive and more obese." "Climate change" was also frequently blamed for Hurricane Ian hitting Florida in October, however, experts pushed back, arguing that individual storms cannot be linked to climate change.