PPE

Twenty percent of nursing homes remained “severely” short on the staff and personal protective equipment needed to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in their facilities, an analysis of federal data from summer revealed.

There was no meaningful improvement in shortages overall from May to July 2020, investigators from the University of Rochester, New York, and Harvard  University reported in late August. Equipment shortages — most often of masks and gowns — were noted nationwide. 

A quarter of U.S. counties had at least 44% of nursing homes reporting staff shortages, most often of nurses and aides.