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2500 + nursing homes battling coronavirus in the U.S - 20,000 dead nationwide - 36,000 + residents and staff infected

Inside the Troubled Nursing Home Where 70 Died and Body Bags Piled Up

Credit...Gregg Vigliotti for The New York Times
The sprawling New Jersey nursing home, which was chronically short of staff and protective equipment, quickly fell prey to the coronavirus.

Credit...Gregg Vigliotti for The New York Times

By Tracey Tully, Brian M. Rosenthal, Matthew Goldstein and Robert Gebeloff
  • April 19, 2020
  • Updated 5:43 p.m. ET
When the coronavirus outbreak hit one of the largest and most troubled nursing homes in the Northeast, coughing and feverish residents were segregated into a wing known as South 2. The sick quickly filled the beds there, so another wing, West 3, was also turned into a quarantine ward.

But the virus kept finding frail and older residents, and one culprit became clear: The workers themselves were likely spreading it as they moved between rooms and floors, outfitted with little or no protective equipment.

The nursing home, Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center II in Andover, N.J., which has 543 beds, was chronically short of staff and masks, and over the last two years it had received poor grades from federal and state inspectors. Residents were crowded three to a room, and as the outbreak worsened, so did sanitary conditions. Spilled food littered the floors.

Workers said they hurriedly made their rounds, dispensing medicine, changing bedsheets, feeding those who could not feed themselves and doing other tasks that brought them into close contact with residents....:tiphat:https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/19/n...me-deaths.html
 
***** Administration Announces New Nursing Homes COVID-19 Transparency Effort


Apr 19, 2020
  • Agencies partner with nursing homes to keep nursing home residents safe
Today, under the leadership of President *****, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced new regulatory requirements that will require nursing homes to inform residents, their families and representatives of COVID-19 cases in their facilities. In addition, as part of President *****’s Opening Up America, CMS will now require nursing homes to report cases of COVID-19 directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This information must be reported in accordance with existing privacy regulations and statute. This measure augments longstanding requirements for reporting infectious disease to State and local health departments. Finally, CMS will also require nursing homes to fully cooperate with CDC surveillance efforts around COVID-19 spread.

CDC will be providing a reporting tool to nursing homes that will support Federal efforts to collect nationwide data to assist in COVID-19 surveillance and response. This joint effort is a result of the CMS-CDC Work Group on Nursing Home Safety. CMS plans to make the data publicly available. This effort builds on recent recommendations from the American Health Care Association and Leading Age, two large nursing home industry associations, that nursing homes quickly report COVID-19 cases.

“Nursing homes have been ground zero for COVID-19. Today’s action supports CMS’ longstanding commitment to providing transparent and timely information to residents and their families,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “Nursing home reporting to the CDC is a critical component of the go-forward national COVID-19 surveillance system and to efforts to reopen America.”

“Scientific data derived from solid surveillance is a key element of recommendations to protect Americans, particularly our most vulnerable, from the devastating impact of COVID-19,” said CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield. “This coordinated effort with CMS will allow CDC to provide even more detailed information to state and local health departments about how COVID-19 is affecting nursing home residents in order to develop additional recommendations to keep them safe.”...:tiphat:https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-r...parency-effort
 
Nursing homes will now have to tell families if there is a coronavirus infection at the facility says HHS – meaning families have been kept in the dark for weeks
PUBLISHED: 20:36 EDT, 19 April 2020 | UPDATED: 20:41 EDT, 19 April 2020
  • Seema Verma announced nursing homes will now have to report if there is a case of coronavirus in the facility to families of those residing at the center
  • This suggests that individuals were not previously informed if their family member was at risk of contracting the virus from another resident
  • 'We are requiring nursing homes to report to patients and their families if there are cases of COVID virus inside the nursing home,' the HHS official said
  • The elderly are at a heightened risk of falling fatal if they contract coronavirus
  • Social distancing guidelines recommend those over 60-years-old avoid leaving their homes for any reason other than seeking medical attention
  • By KATELYN CARALLE, U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Seema Verma announced Sunday that those with family members in a nursing home will now be told if someone comes down with coronavirus in the facility.

'Today we are announcing we are requiring nursing homes to report to patients and their families if there are cases of COVID virus inside the nursing home,' Verma said during a White House coronavirus press briefing Sunday evening.

Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within Health and Human Services, said the task force is also now requiring nursing homes to report any instances of COVID-19 to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The elderly are among the most susceptible to dying should they contract coronavirus, and under the White House social distancing guidelines, those over 60 years of age are told to stay home entirely.

This new initiative from the coronavirus task force suggests that those with family members in these facilities were not previously being informed if their loved ones were at risk of contracting the virus from an individual or outbreak at the nursing home....:tiphat:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-facility.html
 
111 Patients at South Shore Assisted-Living Facility Test Positive for Coronavirus

Published 8 mins ago • Updated 8 mins ago

1:58
County, City Officials Call for Investigation into Symphony of Joliet Nursing Home
svg%3E


Officials say 111 of the 158 residents at a South Shore assisted-living facility have tested positive for coronavirus.

The Symphony Care Network, who operates the facility, announced the test results in collaboration with University of Chicago Medicine on Tuesday evening. According to the company, preliminary results indicate that 111 patients at the facility tested positive for the virus.

The company’s COVID-19 Task Force is taking “aggressive steps” to treat patients, some of whom aren’t exhibiting symptoms, the company said in an email....:tiphat:https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/coro...virus/2259783/
 
At Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, More Than 50 Veterans Now Dead After Testing Positive For COVID-19

By MIRIAM WASSER • 14 MINUTES AGO

The Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke reported its first positive case of the coronavirus on March 22. Four weeks later, 63 veterans have died; 52 of them had confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Another 94 living residents and 81 employees have the virus, according to the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

The coronavirus is spreading quickly — and often fatally — through many long-term care facilities in Massachusetts. But so far, nowhere appears as hard hit as the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, a state-run long-term care facility for veterans.

According to recent state data, about 54% of coronavirus-related deaths have been in long-term care facilities, and of those, about 5% have been at the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home. The Soldiers’ Home is one of 265 long-term care facilities with at least one case of the coronavirus....:tiphat:https://www.nepr.net/post/holyoke-so...itive-covid-19
 
COVID-19 Takes Over Nursing Homes Across the U.S. and 42 Oklahoma Care Facilities


By: Sierra Pizarro
Posted at 9:50 PM, Apr 21, 2020

and last updated 10:57 PM, Apr 21, 2020

SALLISAW, Okla. — Controlling COVID-19 can be especially difficult inside care facilities like nursing homes. The virus has invaded long-term care facilities and nursing homes across the country, including 42 of Oklahoma's care homes.

Marci Warren, a nurse at Sequoyah Manor, (an assisted living facility in Sallisaw, Okla.) feels like she is working under a lock-down.

Warren said, “Everybody’s isolated. Empty halls, empty dining room.”

Sequoyah Manor’s residents now eat in their rooms. Staff rely on gloves and donated face masks to stay safe.

“This is all we have,” said Warren. “We wash these masks at the end of each day.”

Signs of fever are also checked.

“We are getting our temperatures taken at least three times a shift,” Warren said.

Those age 65 and over make up the majority of Oklahoma's COVID cases - 32%.

Becky Randolph visits her 90-year-old mother at Sequoyah Manor every day.

“If my mother was to get this virus, she would not survive this virus,” Randolph said....


The CDC reports, 2,363 people in nursing homes or long term care facilities in the U.S. died of the coronavirus since February.

Announced Sunday during a White House COVID-19 briefing, nursing homes and senior care facilities will soon be required to notify patients, their families and health officials if someone in the facility tests positive for the coronavirus.....:tiphat:https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news...are-facilities
 
11 have died from virus at northern Virginia care facility


By MATTHEW BARAKAT
43 minutes ago

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A coronavirus outbreak at a northern Virginia long-term care facility has resulted in 11 deaths and dozens of illnesses over the past month.

The outbreak at Dulles Health and Rehab Center in Herndon began with a positive test for the coronavirus March 28, said Jeannie Adams, director of legal services for Commonwealth Care of Roanoke, which provides management and consulting services to the Herndon facility.

Since then, there have been 63 positive test results of patients at the facility. Of those, 47 are still receiving care there.

Adams said Wednesday that 19 staff members have also tested positive...:tiphat:https://apnews.com/fe5c9497e2229defae3055df90e8c976
 
Unified-Command Releases New Data, Special Report on Nursing Homes


Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | 01:49pm
Nashville, Tenn. -- Today, Tennessee’s COVID-19 Unified-Command Group released new data on COVID-19 in the state’s long-term care facilities and outlined its action plan on how to prevent further cases and mitigate existing clusters within these facilities. Starting today, the Tennessee Department of Health will report the number of confirmed cases and COVID-19-related fatalities in all long-term care facilities across the state. The Department’s website will be updated every Friday at 2 p.m. CDT to provide this data.

“This data and report give a clear picture on the risks that the virus poses to long-term care facilities and the aggressive actions the state has taken and will continue to take to protect residents and staff,” said Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey. “We take our duties to protect both public health and patient privacy very seriously. Based upon the current development of the COVID-19 situation in Tennessee, the Department has determined that releasing this data is in the public health interest. Unified-Command stands at the ready to assist long-term care facilities in mitigating outbreaks amongst residents and staff.”

Department of Health Action Plan for Long Term Care Facilities

The Department of Health provides detailed plans in the attached report on how they work with long-term care facilities to protect residents and staff from COVID-19 and mitigate outbreaks. The action plans include:
  • Immediate notification of public health department of a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in residents or staff;
  • Immediate facility notification of residents and their representatives of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases inside the facility;
  • Robust and swift information gathering by Department staff in concert with the facility to determine:
    • Personal protective equipment and environmental cleaning needs;
    • The need for targeted or widespread testing of residents and staff;
    • Whether positive residents can cohort within the facility or must be relocated to hospitals for greater medical care
  • Ongoing investigation and contact tracing by Department staff, facility cleaning, and daily situation updates with the facility to ensure the facility is safe for residents and staff.
Full details on the action plan can be found in the attached pdf.

As of 2:00 p.m. CDT Wednesday April 22, there are 375 total confirmed cases and 37 confirmed fatalities among residents and staff across 22 long-term care facilities in Tennessee. A breakdown of cases and fatalities per facility can be found below:
[TABLE="border: 0, cellpadding: 0, cellspacing: 0"]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Facility Name[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Facility City[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Facility County[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]Number of Confirmed Cases[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]Number of Deaths[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Bells Nursing and Rehabilitation Center[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Bells[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Crockett[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]6[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]AHC Cumberland[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Nashville[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Davidson[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]4[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Nashville Community Care & Rehabilitation at Bordeaux[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Nashville[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Davidson[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]25[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Trevecca Center for Rehabilitation and Healing LLC[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Nashville[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Davidson[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]6[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Williamsburg Villas[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Knoxville[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Knox[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]4[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]The White House Assisted Living[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Lafayette[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Macon[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]5[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]AHC Forest Cove[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Jackson[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Madison[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]3[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Signature HealthCARE of Putnam County[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Cookeville[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Putnam[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]51[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Boulevard Terrace Health and Rehabilitation[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Murfreesboro[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Rutherford[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]4[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Carriage Court of Memphis[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Memphis[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Shelby[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]8[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Christian Care of Memphis[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Memphis[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Shelby[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]14[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Grace Healthcare of Cordova[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Cordova[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Shelby[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]3[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Heritage at Irene Woods[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Memphis[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Shelby[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]11[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Parkway Health and Rehabilitation Center[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Memphis[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Shelby[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]32[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]The King's Daughters and Sons Home[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Bartlett[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Shelby[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]7[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]The Village at Germantown[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Memphis[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Shelby[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]7[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing LLC[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Gallatin[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Sumner[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]161[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]19[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]NHC Place Sumner[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Gallatin[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Sumner[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]3[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]NHC HealthCare Franklin[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Franklin[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Williamson[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]14[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Fountains of Franklin[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Franklin[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Williamson[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]2[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]NHC Place at Cool Springs[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Franklin[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Williamson[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]2[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Elmcroft of Lebanon[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"]Lebanon[/TD]
[TD="width: 105"]Wilson[/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]3[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="width: 330"]Total[/TD]
[TD="width: 98"] [/TD]
[TD="width: 105"] [/TD]
[TD="width: 80"]375[/TD]
[TD="width: 75"]37[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


:tiphat:https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/202...ing-homes.html
 
Half of coronavirus deaths in Europe linked to nursing homes, WHO says


Brussels: Up to half of coronavirus-related deaths in Europe are taking place in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.

The assessment suggests public health authorities may have allowed the pandemic to rage among some of their most vulnerable populations as they focused on hospitals and other aspects of their response.

A "deeply concerning picture" is emerging about residents of homes for the elderly, Hans Kluge, the WHO's top official for Europe, told reporters at a news conference Thursday. According to countries' estimates, he said, "up to half of those who have died from COVID-19 were resident in long-term care facilities. This is an unimaginable human tragedy."

Kluge's warning focused on Europe, but the United States has also struggled with the pandemic at homes for the elderly. A Washington Post analysis this week found that nearly 1 in 10 nursing homes in the United States have reported cases of the coronavirus, with a death count that has reached the thousands.....:tiphat:https://www.watoday.com.au/world/eur...24-p54mse.html
 
Illinois coronavirus: Stunning new numbers for COVID-19 cases in IL nursing homes

By Chuck Goudie, Barb Markoff, Christine Tressel, Ross Weidner and Jonathan Fagg
Friday, April 24, 2020 6:38PM

CHICAGO (WLS) -- New data from the Illinois Department of Public Health shows COVID-19 cases grew exponentially since last week. Coronavirus cases are now in more counties and more facilities.

"All of these sort of group... communal settings are opportunities for COVID to spread very quickly, and it's in a vulnerable population," said Dr. Susan Bleasdale, Cheif Quality Officer and Infectious Disease Specialist for UI Health.

According to new state data released Friday and examined by the I-Team, corona-virus cases at long term care facilities more than doubled the past few days; from 18,60 cases to more than 4,200. The number of deaths has also surged from 286 to 624.

There has been a 67 percent jump in the number of infected nursing homes in Illinois. More counties have nursing homes with COVID-19 cases than just a few days ago....:tiphat:https://abc7chicago.com/health/stunn...homes/6128158/
 
'It's a sinking ship': COVID-19 deaths triple at state-run vets nursing home as families clamor for information
  • PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS
By WILLIAM BENDER | The Philadelphia Inquirer | Published: April 25, 2020

CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. (Tribune News Service) — They're dying.

Almost every day over the last two weeks, military veterans and their spouses have been dying at a top-rated, state-run nursing home in Chester County ravaged by the coronavirus.

One, two, four a day.

The death toll nearly tripled over a five-day period at the sprawling, 283-bed Southeastern Veterans' Center complex in a wooded stretch of East Vincent Township, near the Schuylkill. As of Friday, 26 residents who had tested positive for COVID-19 or were presumed to be infected have died, according to the Chester County coroner.

"They're sitting ducks, the veterans," said Nadine Bean, daughter-in-law of a 95-year old World War II veteran who lives there.

Bean, a clinical social worker, said families as a whole have been happy with their loved ones' care, and the staff amenities at the five-star nursing home, which has a waiting list and is run by the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. But as the state agency scrambles to contain the coronavirus, the nursing home has concealed the true scope of the deaths and outbreak from vet center families.....:tiphat:https://www.stripes.com/news/veteran...ation-1.627356
 
80 Veterans Die In Massachusetts, Becoming 'Deadliest Known Outbreak' In US Elderly Care Facilities


By Marco Lucas
04/29/20 AT 1:18 PM
KEY POINTS
  • An elderly home in Massachusetts tallied 80 deaths from a coronavirus outbreak in the facility
  • Other elderly homes become highly vulnerable to COVID-19
  • The federal government has only recently required long-term care centers to release reports of COVID-19 infections and fatalities
The latest casualties of the coronavirus are 80 veterans who died in an elder care facility in Massachusetts. It has become the “deadliest known outbreak” in a center that houses the most vulnerable people in this pandemic — the elderly.

Fox News reported that at least 82 veterans and 81 employees have additionally tested positive for COVID-19. All of them are from the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, where the massive deaths were recorded. Federal officials are now investigating what led to the deadly outbreak to identify whether the residents did not receive proper care or it's due to other potential causes.

Investigation revealed that limited staffing gave rise to workers traveling to other units to help, forcing veterans to stay close to each......:tiphat:https://www.ibtimes.com/80-veterans-...y-care-2967267
 
Virus death toll rises to 47 at Minnesota nursing home
  • Apr 30, 2020 Updated 21 min ago
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A suburban Minneapolis nursing home said 47 residents have died from complications of COVID-19, the most at any long-term care facility in Minnesota.

St. Therese of New Hope also said 130 residents have tested positive for the coronavirus, while 65 staff members have shown symptoms or been exposed.

A review of death records by KARE-TV found North Ridge Health and Rehabilitation, also in New Hope, had the second-highest total of fatalities at a long-term care facility in Minnesota with at least 13.

A veterans home in Massachusetts where 70 people have died is the deadliest known coronavirus outbreak at a long-term care facility in the U.S.

Most of Minnesota's 343 deaths have been in nursing homes. The St. Therese death toll would amount to nearly 15% of the 271 that occurred in nursing homes, according to the Star Tribune's analysis of death records.

St. Therese, which has a 258-bed capacity, said all of its residents have been tested. Of those who have tested positive, about a third were asymptomatic, living with a roommate and unknowingly spread the virus.
....:tiphat:https://www.mankatofreepress.com/new...a15a36d5c.html
 
Faced with 20,000 dead nationwide, care homes seek shield from lawsuits

The Associated Press
New York
May 3, 2020 5:22 p.m.

John Minchillo | AP
Faced with 20,000 coronavirus deaths and counting, the nation’s nursing homes are pushing back against a potential flood of lawsuits with a sweeping lobbying effort to get states to grant them emergency protection from claims of inadequate care.

At least 15 states have enacted laws or governors’ orders that explicitly or apparently provide nursing homes and long-term care facilities some protection from lawsuits arising from the crisis. And in the case of New York, which leads the nation in deaths in such facilities, a lobbying group wrote the first draft of a measure that apparently makes it the only state with specific protection from both civil lawsuits and criminal prosecution.

Now the industry is forging ahead with a campaign to get other states on board with a simple argument: This was an unprecedented crisis and nursing homes should not be liable for events beyond their control, such as shortages of protective equipment and testing, shifting directives from authorities, and sicknesses that have decimated staffs....:tiphat:https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/0...-from-lawsuits
 
As Stories of ‘Useless’ PPE Sent to Nursing Homes Pile Up, Providers Demand Investigation into FEMA Response

By Alex Spanko | June 11, 2020

One thousand cloth masks, possibly made from T-shirts, arriving in an unmarked box with no return address. Plastic gowns, similar to trash bags, too large for a nurse to wear. Shipments with far fewer masks and gowns than a facility uses in a single week — with no hand sanitizer, N95 masks, or face shields in sight.

Those are just a handful of stories from nursing homes that have received emergency shipments of personal protective equipment (PPE) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), at least according to a Thursday letter to Vice President Mike Pence from the president and CEO of non-profit nursing home trade group LeadingAge.

...reported problems with FEMA’s promised shipments of PPE, from oversized, tarp-like gowns that staffers have compared to trash bags to masks not rated for medical use.

“It would be funny if the stakes weren’t so high,” an official in Washington state told CNN.

President Trump announced FEMA’s nursing home PPE initiative at the end of April, promising to deliver two weeks’ worth of masks, gowns, gloves, and eye protection to all 15,400 U.S. nursing homes — spread across two shipments — by July 4.
...
https://skillednursingnews.com/2020...-up-providers-demand-investigation-into-fema/
 
43% of U.S. Coronavirus Deaths Are Linked to Nursing Homes

By The New York TimesJune 27, 2020

At least 54,000 residents and workers have died from the coronavirus at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities for older adults in the United States, according to a New York Times database.As of June 26, the virus has infected more than 282,000 people at some 12,000 facilities.

Nursing home populations are at a high risk of being infected by — and dying from — the coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is known to be particularly lethal to adults in their 60s and older who have underlying health conditions. And it can spread more easily through congregate facilities, where many people live in a confined environment and workers move from room to room.

While 11 percent of the country’s cases have occurred in long-term care facilities, deaths related to Covid-19 in these facilities account for more than 43 percent of the country’s pandemic fatalities.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ing-homes.html
 
Beyond nursing homes

Jul 2, 2020

Kim Hart

Nursing homes have been the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, prompting more urgent discussions about alternative housing situations for elderly Americans.

Why it matters: Deaths in nursing homes and residential care facilities account for 45% of COVID-19 related deaths, per the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity — but there are few other viable housing options for seniors.

... In a recent AARP survey, 52% said the benefits of living in an intergenerational home outweigh the disadvantages and risks posed by COVID-19. But ages 50-59 are most likely to see those benefits, with older age brackets more heavily weighing the downsides.

https://www.axios.com/nursing-home-...=social&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=1100
 
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