Coronavirus Has Killed Thousands at U.S. Nursing Homes
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, April 14, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The numbers are staggering: More than 3,600 nursing home and long-term care residents have died due to COVID-19 infections, with a huge number occurring in just the past two weeks.
The stories are tragic:
- A California nursing home with more than a third of residents infected with COVID-19 had to be evacuated when fearful staff didn't show up to work.
- Almost nine in 10 residents of a Massachusetts nursing home had COVID-19 infections.
- The National Guard was deployed to two New Jersey nursing homes hit especially hard with COVID-19 infections.
- A Pennsylvania nursing home believes all 450 residents, and its staff, have been infected with the virus.
What is it about nursing homes and long-term care facilities that makes them uniquely susceptible?
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Dire' situation in nursing homes
Matthew Yarnell, president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Pennsylvania, said the situation in nursing homes and long-term care facilities is dire.
"The long-term care living system has been underfunded for many years, and the virus is highlighting the kinds of long-term systemic problems we have. As a society, we do a really bad job of caring for our seniors," he said.
Right now, Yarnell said there is a "total shortage of PPE and a staffing crisis."
He said many people are working extra shifts to try to help, but many are getting sick. And not all have paid sick leave.
Baron pointed out that people working in long-term care facilities often have lower incomes, may be taking public transportation to work, may live in more densely populated homes and may live with people who have jobs such as grocery store clerks and delivery drivers that expose them to a lot of people. That means health care workers may spread infections in the community, and they may bring infections from the community into the nursing home, particularly if they don't have paid sick leave.
"The workforce who tends to do this work are typically low-wage, often women, often people of color. These are the soldiers we're sending into what's essentially a war zone. We need to make a commitment to them -- if you get sick, we'll have your back," Yarnell said.
And, he added that people working in long-term care facilities should be getting hazard pay.
"The focus has been on the hospitals, but every sector of caregiving should be staffed and supplied appropriately. People need to feel supported in this moment," Yarnell said.
"It's a value question for our society. Right now, our health care institutions are motivated by tight budgets that mean we don't have the supplies we need to fight this invisible enemy," he said.
The AHCA/NCAL agreed. "We desperately need PPE and priority testing. We are now at the point we are calling on the public for donations for PPE to long-term care providers," they said.
Despite doing everything they can to conserve PPE, providers are still struggling to get supplies. The AHCA/NCAL said they're worried that some facilities may exhaust their PPE supplies.
"That is why we are calling for everyone to assist, including partners in other industries and the public, to do everything they can to assist us at this time. We cannot beat this virus alone, and we appreciate everything the Administration, Congress, states, our partnering manufacturers, and members of the public can do right now," the organization said.
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More information
Learn more about the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes and other long-term care facilities from the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOURCES: Richard Baron, M.D., president, American Board of Internal Medicine; April 10, 2020, AHCA/NCAL statement; Matthew Yarnell, president, Service Employees Union International Healthcare Pennsylvania
Last Updated: Apr 14, 2020
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