Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Nursing Homes Were Forced To Take Recovered Residents In Early Days Of Crisis. It Proved To Be 'Fatal Error'
The Wall Street Journal: New York Sent Recovering Coronavirus Patients To Nursing Homes: ‘It Was A Fatal Error’
In late March, Dottie Hickey got a call from Luxor Nursing & Rehabilitation at Mills Pond, the nursing home where her sister lived. The 79-year-old was being moved to make space for incoming hospital patients recovering from coronavirus. Ms. Hickey was told the St. James, N.Y., facility had no choice but to take in these patients under a new state policy. Ms. Hickey said that after a few days she struggled to reach staff for updates on her sister, and after repeated calls, one employee told her why. The nursing home was overwhelmed with cases of Covid-19, the illness caused by the virus. Luxor Nursing & Rehabilitation had no confirmed coronavirus cases before the patients moved in, and can’t say if any arrived while still infectious, a spokesman said. But he added: Luxor “would not have accepted [the patients] without this directive.” (Wilde Mathews, 5/14)
Reuters: U.S. Issues First Coronavirus Workplace Guidance To Nursing Homes
The U.S. Department of Labor issued its first workplace guidance to nursing homes on Thursday since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and ravaged care facilities, saying residents, staff and visitors should keep 6 feet (1.83 meters) apart. (Hals, 5/14)
The New York Times: ‘We’re Just Horrified’: Why A Springsteen Sideman Took On Nursing Homes
When the coronavirus outbreak was only manifesting itself in horrifying headlines from Italy and China, Nils Lofgren, the guitarist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, and his wife, Amy, moved her mother into Brookdale Senior Living, a well-regarded long term care facility in Florham Park, N.J. Almost immediately, Patricia J. Landers, Mrs. Lofgren’s mother, began complaining about missing medications and lapses in supervision. The family began to notice a pattern of neglect, particularly in treating her dementia. (Corasaniti, 5/15)
ProPublica/The Public's Radio: She Fought To Keep COVID-19 Out Of Her Nursing Home. Then, She Got Sick.
From her bed in the intensive care unit at Rhode Island Hospital, Lakesha Lopez wanted to send a message to her staff at the nursing home. The 40-year-old director of nursing at Bannister Center for Rehabilitation and Health Care, in Providence, had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. She had pneumonia in both lungs. (Arditi, 5/15)
Boston Globe: A Plea For Video Calls, A Lifeline To Those Living And Dying In Nursing Homes
With families pleading to connect with their loved ones, nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the state are scrambling to arrange virtual visits through the chaos of an unprecedented crisis. Southwood’s administrator, Lindsey Starr, said she arranged the last call between MacDonald and her family minutes after she learned Foster had requested it. (Murphy, 5/14)
