Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nursing Home Testing Setback: Massachusetts Pauses Program As Inconsistent Results Surface
Boston Globe: Mass. Pausing Part Of Its Nursing Home Testing Program; State Data Riddled With Inaccuracies
As the number of deaths in nursing homes from COVID-19 surpassed 1,000 on Tuesday, the state announced it will pause a key component of its plan for testing residents of long-term care facilities. Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders at a State House news conference said the state would temporarily stop shipping coronavirus test kits to nursing homes. Long-term care facilities appeared to be ill-equipped to collect the samples properly, officials said in subsequent statement. (Krantz, Crimaldi and Weisman, 4/21)
Detroit Free Press: Detroit Says COVID-19 Infection Rate At 26% In City's Nursing Homes
After more than a week of testing, Detroit officials say they are finding about a quarter of the residents and staff at the city’s nursing homes are infected with COVID-19, with about half of them asymptomatic. Detroit plans to publicly release detailed information on the impact the virus has had on individual nursing homes after testing at all the city's facilities is completed this week. (Anderson and Hall, 4/21)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Reports 418 COVID-19 Cases In Nursing, Group Facilities
At least 418 residents of long-term care and other group facilities in Wisconsin have tested positive for COVID-19, health officials reported Tuesday, without naming the facilities. The data came five days after the Journal Sentinel reported that many local health officials would not confirm whether any nursing homes or other long-term care facilities in their counties had coronavirus cases. (Chen and Linnane, 4/21)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Nevada National Guard Helping At Nursing Homes During Pandemic
The Nevada National Guard has stepped in to help combat the surge in cases of the new coronavirus at nursing homes and assisted living centers. ...Nursing homes and assisted living centers account for more than 16 percent of reported COVID-19 deaths in Nevada, according to state data. (Erickson, 4/21)
KQED: These California Nursing Homes Have Had COVID-19 Outbreaks
More than 21 percent of nursing homes in California now report cases of COVID-19, according to new lists state officials made public Monday, following a promise by the governor. The California Department of Social Services released some limited information about cases and deaths at adult and residential care facilities. Together, the lists -- among the most comprehensive in the nation -- still offer only a partial picture of institutional outbreaks of coronavirus. (Peterson, 4/21)
WBUR: More Than 50 Veterans Have Died From COVID-19 At Soldiers’ Home In Holyoke. But Staff Say The Situation Is Improving
The Soldiers' Home in Holyoke reported its first positive case of the coronavirus on March 22. Four weeks later, 63 veterans have died; 52 of them had confirmed cases of COVID-19. Another 94 living residents and 81 employees have the virus, according to the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services. (Wasser, 4/21)
Bangor Daily News: As Nursing Homes Handle Coronavirus Outbreaks, How Much They Tell Families Has Varied
A new rule from the federal government that will require nursing homes to share news of coronavirus cases with residents and family members highlights the wide range of communicativeness residents and their families have encountered as the homes have become some of the most common sites of virus outbreaks. (Pendharkar, 4/22)
Sacramento Bee: COVID-19 Hotspots At Two Sacramento CA Assisted Living Homes
At least 65 residents and employees from two Sacramento County assisted-living facilities owned by the same company have tested positive for COVID-19, according to new state data released late Monday. Sunrise Assisted Living-Sacramento reported at least 25 residents and 23 employees infected with the new coronavirus. Similarly, Sunrise Assisted Living-Fair Oaks reported 16 infected residents and at least one employee with the disease. (Pohl, 4/21)
