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| Covid-19 cases from May 31-Nov.1 in nursing homes and in the general population. (American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living chart; click the image to enlarge it.) |
New coronavirus cases have surged to an all-time high at nursing homes across the country despite federal efforts to shield residents through aggressive testing and visitor restrictions, a new report shows," Ken Alltucker reports for USA Today. "Federal data shows 10,279 covid-19 cases during the week of Nov. 1, the most recent data available. The figures surpassed the previous high of 9,903 cases in late July, according to a report by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living."
Nursing homes are a significant vector for spreading the infection in rural areas, but federal rules updated in September loosened employee testing requirements for many rural nursing homes.
The rise in nursing-home cases is linked to the rise of overall coronavirus cases in communities (see chart above), but the virus is much deadlier for nursing-home residents than the general public. Data from The Atlantic's Covid Tracking Project shows that nursing homes house fewer than 1 percent of the U.S. population, but account for 40% of the nation's covid-19 deaths, Alltucker reports.
"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has provided billions in emergency funds to nursing homes and long-term care facilities to test, staff and purchase personal protective equipment to prevent infections among staff and residents," Alltucker reports. "Among the initiatives: HHS has purchased point-of-care machines and kits that can deliver test results within minutes."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Tuesday that only about 12.5% of the nation's nursing homes have completed at least half of the agency's training program meant to help staff slow the spread of the disease, and released a list of the 1,092 homes that have done so.
Some nursing homes may be seeing a spike because there isn't enough highly-qualified staff. A recent study in Kentucky found that the nursing homes with the highest covid-19 mortality rates had relatively low numbers of registered nurses on staff who spent less time than average with residents.
from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/3lLgkTX As nursing-home covid cases surge, few have completed government training meant to quell spread; see which ones - Entrepreneur Generations
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