More providers across the country are now considering converting traditional nursing homes to created COVID-only recovery facilities.
Multiple providers in Connecticut have offered to clear out facilities so they can be used to house COVID-19 residents, according to a report by the CT Mirror. Texas and California are among other states known to be actively pursuing the same strategy.
The largest nursing home association in the country, in fact, has urged providers to start creating separate spaces, if not always full buildings, to address a projected boom of recovering, suspected or particularly infection-vulnerable patients.
Providers have also identified nine vacant facilities — which would provide about 1,000 beds for recovering patients — and are asking state officials to approve the proposal. If approved, the facilities would become coronavirus-focused facilities and healthy residents would be moved to nursing homes where others have tested negative.
“If COVID-19 gets into a nursing facility, it’s very difficult to stop its spread,” said Matthew Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities.
“The trick is to keep it from getting into the building. When you find people in the building that have it, try to get those people out of the facility, or get the well people out. So we’re looking at the concept of COVID-19 specific nursing facilities, at least for the time being during the pandemic,” he added.
Providers said they’re waiting for state approval before they proceed with the plan. Other issues that would still need to be addressed include sufficient staffing with appropriate skills, personal protection equipment, access to ventilators and testing, and better pay for workers designated to work at the COVID-19 buildings, Barrett noted.
A Massachusetts provider announced a first-of-its-kind plan to create a facility focused solely on treating patients with COVID-19 in a partnership with health and state officials.
In revised guidance issued Monday night, the American Health Care Association urged operators to create new spaces for incoming residents, particularly those coming from hospitals and any COVID-19 recovering patients.
“We strongly urge LTC facilities to begin creating separate wings, units or floors now, by moving current residents to handle admissions from the hospital and keeping current residents separate, if possible,” the guidance read, in part. “LTC facilities should also start now to develop plans for consolidating residents between facilities to create ‘new’ facilities that can accept hospital discharges who may be COVID positive or negative or harboring the virus because testing is not available.”
