Republican lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly on Thursday announced plans to hold a forum to discuss issues facing nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The forum, scheduled for Monday, comes after joint public hearings on nursing homes and long-term care facilities were held last week and this past Monday. 

But Republican Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay and Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said they are seeking "additional insight" on the issue. 

Lawmakers in both parties are invited to participate in the event, which will also feature testimony from Janice Dean, the Fox News meteorologist who lost both her in laws to the virus this year.

“If we’ve learned anything from the first two nursing home hearings, it’s that the discussion is far from over. We have heard from a number of individuals and organizations who wanted to come forward and share their experiences, but simply were not given the opportunity to do so,” Barclay said.

“Holding legislative hearings was important, but there is no reason to limit the conversations to only two events on an issue that impacted so many thousands of lives. After the health commissioner’s evasive testimony, after legislators were denied a chance to ask questions, after witnesses were pulled off of invitation lists, our Conference promised that we were not done listening. Monday’s forum, and those that will follow, demonstrate our commitment to those individuals still waiting be heard.”

The formal hearings over the last two weeks included testimony from health care experts, hospital officials and from people who have had loved ones die in nursing homes. The witness list  and the hearing itself has garnered praise from some for being varied.

Republicans and Democrats alike were frustrated at times by testimony from Health Commissioner Howard Zucker and the lack of a precise number of nursing home residents who have died during the pandemic. The state's official count is about 6,300 people, but the number of fatalities is likely higher given the state does not count nursing home residents who died in hospitals.

 “Thousands of New Yorkers died in nursing homes and adult care facilities, and the state has yet to provide proper context to the full extent of the issue,” Ortt said. “For more than three months, Senate Republicans called for hearings and an independent investigation to uncover the truth about what happened in our state’s nursing homes. Despite two prior hearings, there is clearly more work to be done. This is too critical of an issue to simply walk away and close the door. Even without full transparency and cooperation from the Cuomo Administration, grieving families deserve to be heard.”