CMS To Push Nursing Homes To Quickly Inform Residents, Families Of Confirmed Cases

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Medicare Agency Said To Seek Better Covid-19 Disclosures By Nursing Homes
Federal health regulators are expected to push the nursing-home industry to inform residents, their families and staff quickly when facilities confirm Covid-19 cases, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could announce the move as early as this week, the people said. It isn’t clear whether CMS will order facilities to disclose cases to family, residents and staff, or strongly recommend it. Nor is it clear whether the federal government will take action to gather all the data and release total figures on the spread of the virus in nursing homes. (Wilde Mathews and Kamp, 4/12)

The Associated Press: Nursing Home Deaths Soar Past 3,600 In Alarming Surge
More than 3,600 deaths nationwide have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, an alarming rise in just the past two weeks, according to the latest count by The Associated Press. Because the federal government has not been releasing a count of its own, the AP has kept its own running tally based on media reports and state health departments. The latest count of at least 3,621 deaths is up from about 450 deaths just 10 days ago. (Condon and Herschaft, 4/13)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Overwhelms California Nursing Homes
The masks are long gone, replaced by face covers fashioned from pillowcases. Cleaning supplies are dwindling. And when Maria Cecilia Lim, a licensed vocational nurse at an Orange County nursing home, needs a sterile gown, she reaches for a raincoat bought off the rack by desperate co-workers. “This is just one raincoat that we have to keep reusing,” Lim said last week between shifts at the Healthcare Center of Orange County, a 100-bed nursing facility in Buena Park. “A lot of people are using it.” (Hamilton, Gerber and Chabria, 4/12)

Detroit Free Press: Death Toll Rises As COVID-19 Sweeps Through Nursing Homes In Michigan
There have been hundreds of confirmed coronavirus cases among residents and staff and dozens of deaths linked to nursing homes in Michigan, the Free Press has found, even as facilities take steps to stem the spread and health officials work to monitor outbreaks. In Wayne County — not including Detroit, which has its own health department — 35% of all of the county's confirmed COVID-19 deaths had been nursing home residents, based on a review of the state's disease surveillance system, a spokesman said Friday. And in Detroit, officials have said all of the city's nursing homes had reported confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases. (Kaufman, Hall, Anderson and Tanner, 4/12)

Boston Globe: More Than 41 Percent Of State Coronavirus Deaths Come From Long-Term Care Facilities 
The new coronavirus has caused the deaths of at least 247 residents of Massachusetts long-term care facilities, a grim toll that accounted for more than 41 percent of all deaths in the state linked to the disease, according to new data released Friday. The disclosure was made amid a series of dire warnings Friday from Governor Charlie Baker, who said officials expect that a new surge in COVID-19 cases could sicken 2,500 residents each day for the next 10 days, and possibly beyond. (Crimaldi and Krantz, 4/10)

The Associated Press: Older States Grapple With Fear, Isolation And Medical Care
This isn’t the way Betsy Steen and her husband wanted to spend their golden years: Hunkered down at home, living with fear and isolation. Steen, 76, and her husband David, 75, both take immuno-suppressant medications, placing them at high risk if they contract the coronavirus. They try to keep positive, but it’s hard to escape the flood of bad news. “It’s just surreal,” the retired teacher said from her Bowdoinham home. “It’s kind of like a dream. Every once in a while, you wake up and say that’s real.” (Sharp, 4/13)