Nursing home providers in New York could soon face additional scrutiny after the state named medical facilities where patients have been treated for the deadly fungus, Candida auris.
The names of 103 long-term care nursing homes, 64 hospitals, three hospice units and a long-term care hospital that have cared for patients with the fungus were recently disclosed by the New York State Department of Health to the New York Times, according to a report.
The fungus, which is highly contagious, has been a top concern for providers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It tends to infect those who are the most vulnerable, including those with multiple medical conditions in hospitals and long-term skilled nursing facilities. It also may be responsible for up to 60% of the deaths of those who become invasively infected, according to the CDC.
The disclosure of the facilities could cause “unnecessary panic” among patients and families, warned Loretta Willis, vice president for quality advocacy with the Healthcare Association of New York.
“Without a fuller understanding about what’s happening and what’s going on with these emerging infections, it may cause unnecessary panic,” Willis said in the report.
“I’m worried it will be taken out of context,” she added.
State Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, MD, instead argued the release isn’t meant to stop patients from going to those facilities, but rather help inform them.
