Burgeoning coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes across the country are laying bare the risks of the industry’s long-running problems, including a struggle to control infections and a staffing crisis that relies on poorly paid aides.
FILE - In this March 10, 2020, file photo, a worker wearing protective gear is seen through a window as she works in a room of a woman who has tested positive for the new coronavirus, as her daughters look in from outside the window, at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., near Seattle.
“Nursing homes would always have been ground zero, but given we already have huge staffing shortages, this will be magnified,” said David Grabowski, a Harvard Medical School professor who has studied staffing problems at homes. “It could be worse for today’s nursing homes than ever.” Sherry Perry, a certified nursing assistant at a nursing home Lebanon, Tennessee, has been working through the coronavirus crisis and believes her employer has been taking extra precautions to prevent infections, such as cleaning hand rails multiple times a day.
Lapses are common even at homes with high government ratings for overall quality. Four of 10 of the highest ranked homes have been cited for infection problems. Among the lowest rated facilities — those with a single star — 8 in 10 have been cited. “One thing this coronavirus has shown is that the enforcement system is way too tolerant of facilities not meeting the standards of care,” she said.
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