Nursing Homes Pressed on Infection Control as Covid Cases Soar

Coronavirus infections at the nation’s nursing homes are once again exploding as a national resurgence of Covid-19 in the greater community is wreaking havoc on elderly and disabled residents of the facilities.

After falling to roughly 6,319 reported cases at nursing homes at the end of June, the industry reported about 12,000 cases in July, Medicare Administrator Seema Verma told nursing home officials during a conference call Thursday.

Field observation suggests the problem is due to “significant deficiencies in infection control practices,” Verma said, such as improper donning and doffing of protective gowns and masks, improper hand sanitizing, and failure to maintain social distancing at nursing homes.

“We are deeply concerned about the situation we are seeing,” said Verma, who leads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

About half of the nation’s 14,500 nursing homes have reported infections, with some logging only one to three cases while others have 30 or more. Even facilities that regularly test employees and patients are seeing more infections, Verma added.

“I cannot emphasize enough that the situation can turn very quickly and in a matter of hours you can go from having two or three cases to having half of your nursing home impacted, which is what we’ve seen in some areas,” Verma said.

She called on facilities to “double down” on infection-control measures and training, especially for new employees, and urged facility staff to be suspicious at all times about possible infections.

Verma advised facilities to maintain distancing, avoid congregating, and to do resident and staff testing outdoors to keep the virus at bay.

As of Aug. 7, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in 43 states reported 62,925 Covid-19 deaths, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That’s 44% of all Covid-19 deaths in those states.

Since visitations at nursing homes were stopped in March, the virus is entering facilities mainly through employees, new admissions from hospitals, and when residents return from essential outside medical appointments like dialysis. About 20% of residents infected in nursing homes end up dying, while more than half are asymptomatic.

In July, the CMS allocated $5 billion from the provider relief fund for nursing homes to use for extra staffing, testing, and technology to facilitate virtual visits with residents. Last week the Trump administration announced nursing homes will get another $5 billion in federal pandemic relief funding.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is on “high alert” that many facilities are running low on protective gear, Verma said. Federal officials will meet with the nation’s governors next week to discuss how to provide more support for nursing homes.