The family of a woman who died from COVID-19 has filed a lawsuit against an Alabama nursing home. The female resident was receiving physical therapy rehabilitation at the nursing home when in May 2020, she contracted COVID-19 and later died on June 24, 2020.
The lawsuit alleges that the nursing home staff put the female resident in a room with another resident that staff knew, or should have known, was infected with COVID-19. The lawsuit specifically alleges that the therapy director of the nursing home and the business office manager deviated from the standard of care by failing to properly monitor, assess, and recognize that the female resident was at risk for contracting COVID-19 and to ensure that any proper interventions were put into place and followed. The lawsuit also alleges that the nursing home failed to have enough staff or train employees adequately.
The lawsuit was initially filed in Mobile County Circuit Court, but the nursing home has asked that it be transferred to federal court. Attorneys for the nursing home cited the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, a law that gives the federal courts jurisdiction over litigation related to a dispute involving a declaration made by the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. A declaration was made in March 2020 for COVID-19. The PREP Act could play a prominent role in the outcome of this case in federal court. Other nursing homes have argued that the law grants immunity.
The Alabama nursing home was the site of one of the county’s largest COVID-19 outbreaks. According to federal records, 14 residents died from COVID-19 there.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
As we begin to see the cases of COVID-19 decreasing in nursing homes across the country, every nursing home must continue to be vigilant in implementation of their Infection Control Plan and their Emergency Preparedness Plan. All staff members must continue to adhere to the Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention. Supervisors and others who have decision making capacity must follow infection control protocols when assessing staff members and know when staff members should be prohibited from working to decrease the spread of infections. In addition, each facility’s Emergency Preparedness Plan should address maintaining appropriate staffing levels to provide a safe environment and safe resident care during emergencies, including pandemics.
Discussion Points
- Review your Emergency Preparedness Plan and your Infection Control Plan. Ensure that each plan is up-to-date and includes the most recent information from the CDC and other credible sources.
- Train all staff on your Emergency Preparedness Plan and the Infection Control Plan. Provide education on the process for separating residents who test positive for COVID-19 or who have unknown status from those who test negative. Document that these trainings occurred and file the signed document in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit to ensure that staff are following your Infection Control guidelines and are aware of their roles during an emergency. Audit to ensure that any residents with COVID-19 and their caregivers are separated from residents who test negative and their caregivers through planned placement and consistent assignments.
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