Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Some States Allowing Nursing Home Visitors Again
Indianapolis Star: Indiana Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Centers Bear Brunt Of COVID-19
More than two-thirds of Indiana's coronavirus deaths were residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities, according to new numbers released today by the Indiana State Department of Health. At least 1,903 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in long-term care facilities, which is up by 285 from the last tally released by the state on July 28. Those deaths represent 68% of the 2,811 death listed on the ISDH dashboard. (Hopkins and Evans, 8/6)
Dallas Morning News: Texas To Begin Allowing Visitation At Nursing Homes With No Active COVID-19 Cases
Some Texas nursing homes and other long-term care facilities will be allowed to begin having visitors for the first time in months, according to new rules from the state health department. The reopening is limited to facilities with no confirmed staff cases of COVID-19 in two weeks and no active cases in residents, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission said. At nursing homes, the staff must also be receiving weekly coronavirus tests to reopen. (McGaughy, 8/6)
AP: Inslee Releases Virus Guidelines For Nursing Home Visitors
Calling it a “big step forward,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced how visitors may return to nursing homes and other long term care operations — six months after the country’s first known coronavirus outbreak devastated a Kirkland facility. “We have come far enough in both our restraint in the pandemic and in our ability to develop protocols that will work,” Inslee said at a news conference. (Ho, 8/6)
Also —
Stat: Nursing Homes Grapple With Preparing For Hurricane Season Amid Covid-19
Nursing homes face an impossible decision during hurricane season this year — whether or not to evacuate their residents amid the Covid-19 pandemic, risking the health and well-being of their patients and staff in the process. Even in normal times, evacuation decisions are tough: Research shows that moving frail residents can exacerbate already burdensome health conditions and increase hospitalizations... This year, as the coronavirus pandemic rages across the Southeast in particular, that decision is even harder — hospitals are already overburdened and social distancing isn’t necessarily possible in evacuation vans or temporary shelters. (Ortolano, 8/7)
