Coronavirus is nursing homes' 'greatest threat' in years. Here's what they must do.
Quotes from article:
"This is the greatest threat to nursing home residents that we have seen in many years, if not ever," Dr. Michael Wasserman, president of the California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, told NBC News.
The most worrisome example of what the virus can do in a nursing home has been at the
Life Care Center. At least 18 residents there have died from the coronavirus in the past month, as well as one person who visited the facility.
Eleven other patients at the Life Care Center have passed away since the outbreak began, though it's unclear whether they, too, had been infected with the new virus. Dozens of other residents at the facility have tested positive for the illness.
Historically, fewer than seven residents pass away each month at the facility.
Several other facilities for older adults in the Seattle area have also reported cases.
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The new guidance is part of an urgent push to keep the virus out of other elder care center across the country. They advise staff to ask visitors whether they've had respiratory symptoms, such as a fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath, and then wash their hands before having any contact with the residents.
"This is unprecedented action that we're taking," Mark Parkinson, president of the AHCA and the NCAL, said during a media briefing Tuesday. He added that visitors should also be asked about recent international travel and whether they've been in other facilities with confirmed cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus.
Within the past 24 hours, the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released similar guidance to counter the spread of the coronavirus.
And, effectively immediately in the state of Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday that children are temporarily banned from nursing homes, and any adult visitors must remain in resident rooms. The rules do not apply to end-of-life situations, however.
Visitors may also be required to wear protective equipment, such as gloves and gowns.
"...the health department is now working with 10 long-term care centers" where either a resident or employee has tested positive." #KingCounty #WashingtonState #coronavirus
