The federal government is working “very, very hard” with governors to address the coronavirus crisis and why it’s having a deadly impact on nursing homes, President Trump asserted Monday during a roundtable discussion with other public health officials.
“[Some states] were caught unaware. They were caught unaware, unfortunately,” he said. “So we’re working very hard with the governors and with everybody, having to do with nursing homes, because that’s a vulnerability; it’s a real soft spot, in terms of” COVID-19.
“We’re working with extreme vigilance to protect nursing home residents from the virus,” he added. “And as I said, that’s been a very important thing for us to be doing.”
Meanwhile, a new Wall Street Journal analysis released Tuesday found that deaths in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have now topped 50,000, along with more than 250,000 cases among residents and staff members.
The number is likely actually higher due to reporting lags and differences among states, the news outlet noted.
Public health officials at the roundtable also reflected on several efforts to combat the pandemic in long-term care, including mandatory COVID-19 reporting by nursing homes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, personal protective equipment deliveries from FEMA to all providers and targeted infection control inspections.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma noted that about 80% of the nation’s nursing homes have “actually done pretty well” managing the coronavirus and haven’t reported any cases or deaths. The agency is focused on the other 20%.
“We’ve been working with governors, asking them to test nursing home residents and their staff and to do that routinely so we can ensure that our nursing home residents are safe,” Verma said.
“And we’re encouraging governors to go out to these nursing homes and perform inspections — boots on the ground — so that we can ensure that those nursing homes are taking the proper precautions,” she added.
The roundtable was convened in connection with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Other participants included Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of Health and Human Affairs Alex Azar, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, Attorney General William Barr, among others.
