Providers in New York are fearing “unnecessary panic” after the state’s Department of Health disclosed the names of medical facilities where patients have been treated for the deadly fungus, Candida auras.
The list featured the names of 103 long-term care nursing homes, 64 hospitals, three hospice unites and a long-term hospital.
“Without a fuller understanding about what’s happening and what’s going on with these emerging infections, it may cause unnecessary panic,” Loretta Willis, vice president for quality advocacy with the Healthcare Association of New York, said in a local media report.
New York State Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, M.D., argued that the release of the facility names isn’t meant to stop patients from going to those places, but rather is to help inform patients.
The highly contagious fungus has been a top concern for skilled nursing 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 skilled nursing facilities.
From the December 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
