Two-plus months after the first U.S. novel coronavirus outbreak was discovered in a Washington state nursing home, the federal government announced a $4.9 billion fund dedicated to helping the sector deal with pandemic issues.
The newly formed Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes is set to begin its work this month.
The long-term care industry is forever changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to expert Robert Kramer.
Surveyors likely will use provider COVID-19 reporting data during their investigations, according to the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.
Offering publicly available data regarding coronavirus cases and deaths in nursing homes is “crucial” to stopping the spread of the disease in facilities, University of Chicago professor R. Tamara Konetzka, Ph.D., told the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging.
Nursing homes and seniors would receive top prioritization for a coronavirus vaccine once it’s released, according to President Trump.
As nursing homes try to open to visitors again per guidance laid out by the Trump administration, testing costs and resources may be a serious roadblock.
Nursing home residents and staff members must receive baseline COVID-19 test results before relaxing any restrictions or advancing through phases of reopening to visitors under new federal guidance issued in May by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Infection control deficiencies were widespread throughout nursing homes before the pandemic, according to a May report by the Government Accountability Office.
Mark Parkinson, President and CEO, American Health Care Association
