Health & Fitness
Names Of Nursing Homes With COVID-19 Can Stay Confidential
Members of the media and anyone else in Arizona are not entitled to know which long-term care facilities have had COVID-19 outbreaks.
PHOENIX — A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled that the Arizona Department of Health Services doesn't have to disclose the names of long-term care facilities with COVID-19 cases.
According to ABC 15, multiple news organizations in Phoenix "filed a joint lawsuit to compel the state to release information on which Arizona nursing homes and other long-term care facilities contained one of more patients with coronavirus."
Even though the names of specific patients was not requested, Judge Christopher Coury cited a "conflict of law between public records, private health, and business information," and added that conflicts like these need to be "clarified by the legislature."
Find out what's happening in Phoenixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Patrick Ptak, a spokesman for Gov. Doug Ducey said that the governor's office was "glad to see this outcome." However, AARP Arizona Director Dana Marie Kennedy expressed disappointment in the judgement, telling ABC 15 that "today’s ruling keeps Arizonans in the dark about the true state of our nursing homes and the health of their residents and staff."
Read the full story at abc15.com.
Find out what's happening in Phoenixfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
