...A national trend in cases
The cases in Mississippi follow a surge in COVID-19 cases at nursing homes across the country.
More than 400 nursing homes nationwide now have cases a more than 150% increase from March 23, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last week, it was reported more than five dozen residents of Pleasant View Nursing Home in Mount Airy, Maryland, had tested positive for coronavirus. The facility reported two positive cases on March 27. The next day, the case count had risen to 66,
according to NBC News.
New Orleans has reported outbreaks in several facilities, including 13 deaths at the Lambeth House retirement home.
In Tennessee, 115 residents tested positive for the illness and two died at the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation outside Nashville, according to local officials.
The rapidly-growing cases follow the first reported nursing home outbreak at the Life Care Center in the state of Washington, which
has so far led to 35 deaths. The fatality rate at Life Care was 33.7%, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
'A lighted match in a gasoline factory'
Jeffrey Jeter, special counsel at the Louisiana-based Jones Walker LLP law firm and a former nursing home compliance officer and health care prosecutor, called the introduction of coronavirus into a nursing home "the nightmare scenario."
"They aren't protected by the four walls. It only takes one carrier, a visitor, a vendor, even a staff member ... It's essentially like carrying a lighted match into a gasoline factory," he said.
Adults who are both older and have underlying medical conditions have a greater risk of developing severe illness if they become infected. Among adults age 60 or older, more than half also have serious medical conditions, rising to nearly two thirds of people age 80 and older,
according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Nursing home residents are even more at risk.
About 40% of nursing home residents are over the age of 85 with more than three-quarters of those having chronic medical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
"Whether or not age alone is a risk factor is heavily debated," said Dr. Javed Butler, chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
"But at the end of the day most chronic diseases congregate in patients that are older and that puts you at a higher risk."
The
Health in Aging Foundation says that most residents are women, many of whom do not have a spouse. Almost 70% are widowed, divorced or were never married. Many also have only a small group of family members and friends for support.
The high occupancy rates are also a concern, particularly in Mississippi, where there are 10% more residents per capita staying at homes than the national average.
The state has a total 204 facilities with about 19,000 beds according to the CDC.
Another concern is nursing home staff.
"The other issue is the health care workers. This is mostly a droplet infection, and they typically go from room to room, from one resident to the next. Social distancing is a great idea but in a nursing home, patients are in close contact with health care workers, especially vulnerable patients with a high morbidity rate," Butler said.
Hospital officials already fear a shortage in necessary medical supplies to protect health care workers. Nursing home staff are in the same boat, Butler said.
"And workers are also likely short on personal protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves, etc.). That's probably same situation in many homes," Butler said.
Dobbs at a recent press conference said the department supplies homes with PPEs during an outbreak, and the executive director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Greg Michel, said nursing homes are considered a "Tier 1" facility, meaning they get top prioritization....
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