Over a four-week time span from mid-October to mid-November 2020, 8,436 nursing home residents have died per an analysis of federal data by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). The previous peak of nursing home residents’ deaths from COVID-19 was 8,009, which occurred from June 1 to June 28, 2020.
The newest available data from mid-October to mid-November 2020 reports that more than 61,000 new residents and more than 58,000 new staff cases have occurred with the COVID-19 virus. The previous high-rate occurred mid-Summer 2020, with nearly 38,000 reported new cases for residents and more than 41,000 new cases for staff. Given the time lag that occurs between case surges and reported deaths, experts warn that the death rate will likely continue to rise.
Staffing shortages of nurses and/or aides among U.S. nursing homes was also at the worst recorded rate since the beginning of the pandemic in the period from mid-October to mid-November, with 29% of facilities reporting shortage. The only category that showed improvement was the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), with the number of nursing homes reporting less than one-week supply of PPE’s dropping to less than one-fifth of facilities.
In the most recent reporting period, South Dakota data reveals the highest case rate and death rate in the country. Nearly a quarter of all nursing home residents in South Dakota contracted the virus from mid-October to mid-November, compared to the previous month’s data. Some states that had previously seen a decline in reported cases are once again seeing an increase in cases and deaths from COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic there have been more than 106,00 deaths amongst residents from COVID-19, or approximately 40% of the nation’s COVID-19 death toll.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
The number of cases of COVID-19, and the death rate associated with COVID-19, continue to soar across the country. The anticipated COVID-19 vaccine should be available soon, with two different doses being required, 3-4 weeks apart, with immunity against the virus occurring 1-2 weeks after the second dose. Therefore, it is imperative that facilities continue to enforce all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) infection control preventative guidelines and regulations. If infection control guidelines and regulations are not followed, this may be seen as placing residents in immediate jeopardy for harm from provision of substandard quality of care, which may result in monetary penalties and other sanctions.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures for infection prevention and control. Ensure that policies are up-to-date with the most recent CDC and CMS infection control guidelines. Additionally, evaluate the amount of PPE available and the availability of adequate numbers of competent staff to address the increasing number of COVID-19 infection outbreaks.
- Train all staff to follow the facility’s policies and procedures for infection prevention and control.
- Periodically audit to ensure that all staff members are following infection control policies and procedures. Provide additional education where determined necessary.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC view: MAINTAINING PROPER INFECTION CONTROL PROCEDURES.
