New York state records show nearly half the state's 600-plus nursing homes hired real estate, management and staffing companies run or controlled by their owners, frequently paying them well above the cost of services. Meanwhile, in the pandemic's height, the federal government was giving the facilities hundreds of millions in fiscal relief. Maskot/Getty Images hide caption
Mary Daniel took a dishwasher job at her husband's Florida memory care facility to see him during the initial coronavirus lockdown. She has been fighting for visitation rights ever since. Tiffany Manning for NPR hide caption
May Nast arrives for dinner at RiverWalk, an independent senior housing facility, in New York, April 1, 2021. COVID-19 infections are soaring again at U.S. nursing homes because of the omicron wave, and deaths are climbing too. That's leading to new restrictions on family visits and a renewed push to get more residents and staff members vaccinated and boosted. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption