Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Survey: Thousands Of Nursing Homes Went Without 'Vital' In-Person Checks On Safety Measures
Politico: Nursing Homes Go Unchecked As Fatalities Mount
Thousands of nursing homes across the country have not been checked to see if staff are following proper procedures to prevent coronavirus transmission, a form of community spread that is responsible for more than a quarter of the nation’s Covid-19 fatalities. Only a little more than half of the nation’s nursing homes had received inspections, according to data released earlier this month, which prompted a fresh mandate from Medicare and Medicaid chief Seema Verma that states complete the checks by July 31 or risk losing federal recovery funds. (Roubein and Severns, 6/15)
ABC News: Nursing Homes Got Masks That 'Probably Should Have Never Gone Out': Official
Federal officials are trying to correct errors that resulted in shipments of outdated or impractical equipment to America’s hard-hit nursing homes in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, according to an audio recording obtained by ABC News of a call between a top government official and advocates for those in nursing care. Col. Brian Kuhn, the defense logistics official overseeing the shipments, acknowledged that some nursing homes received respirator masks that were “way expired” and "should have never gone out," according to the recording of a call with members of LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit providers of aging services that includes many nursing homes. The group also posted the audio of the call online. (Pecorin, Freger, Romero and Mosk, 6/16)
ProPublica: 'Fire Through Dry Grass': Andrew Cuomo Saw COVID-19’s Threat To Nursing Homes. Then He Risked Adding To It.
On April 3, Stephanie Gilmore, a 34-year-old nurse working at the Diamond Hill nursing home in Troy, New York, was summoned to a supervisor’s office. The home’s administrator and nursing director were there to relay some distressing news. Gilmore said they told her that a resident in the home had recently gone to the hospital, where she tested positive for COVID-19. The resident was set to return to Diamond Hill, making her the first confirmed COVID-19 case at the 120-bed facility north of Albany. (Sapien and Sexton, 6/16)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Nursing Home Coronavirus Cases Appear To Slow; State Says Too Early To Tell Why
Infections and deaths from the new coronavirus among Louisiana’s more than 23,000 nursing home residents appear to have slowed, though state officials on Monday cautioned it was too soon to draw a conclusion from the latest data. Nursing home deaths remain a significant portion of the state’s overall death toll, numbering 1,271 as of Monday. About 44% of the state’s 2,906 COVID-19 deaths have been nursing home residents. (Roberts and Rddad, 6/15)
Detroit Free Press: Nursing Home Residents Account For 34% Of Michigan's COVID-19 Deaths
Nursing home patients account for 34% of Michigan's COVID-19 related deaths, according to newly released data. There have been 1,947 deaths of nursing home residents with COVID-19 statewide and 20 deaths of staffers, the state reported Monday, as it released data on deaths associated with individual nursing homes for the first time since the pandemic began three months ago. (Anderson, Tanner and Kaufman, 6/15)
