Nursing home residents deserve our attention
Why did it take so long to release statistics on the impact of the coronavirus in Colorado’s nursing homes? And why did it take until now for the Polis administration to focus on getting nursing homes the resources and equipment they need to comply with newly imposed regulations?
I do not believe for a moment that Gov. Jared Polis and his Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) do not care about the elderly who are physically unable to take care of themselves, our most vulnerable citizens. In fact, the governor rightfully directed on March 12 that nursing homes should ban visits, even by family members, to residents and that only professional staff would be allowed in the buildings.
But the governor and his health department were largely silent for several weeks afterward. Citing federal privacy laws, they declined to answer media requests about the number of infections and deaths in each facility even though all Coloradans, especially family members of these nursing home residents, deserved to know the facts.
Finally, the CDPHE relented and announced on April 15 that as many as 176 coronavirus deaths happened in nursing homes out of the 357 statewide, nearly 50%. As of April 22, nursing home deaths increased to 63% of the statewide total. And as of April 29, there were 431 nursing home deaths, representing 56% of the overall fatalities.
Clearly, nursing homes and their aged residents are the most threatened by this pandemic.
The CDPHE finally announced on April 22 new comprehensive policies that nursing homes must implement and that the facilities must submit prevention and response plans to the state by May 1. So why did nursing homes seem to get overlooked for so long? Will the state give nursing homes the tools to deal with this crisis and not just impose the hammer of new regulations?
I believe it is a symptom of how focused our state is on the huge increase of new, younger people into Colorado. Indeed, these new arrivals are dramatically impacting Colorado’s demographics, our dynamic economy (before the pandemic stalled it) and our political process. Their presence can be felt in the new apartment buildings that are sprouting like weeds across the Denver metro area. The hardworking and dedicated staff at nursing homes go about their business day in, day out compassionately taking care of our elderly who cannot indehad pendently take care of themselves. Except for the occasional citation for serious violations of health and safety standards, nursing homes get little attention from the media.
As Doug Farmer, the president of the Colorado Health Care Association, a nursing home trade association, recently said, “Nursing homes have the exact same frontline heroes — you’re just
not seeing them in the news. They are working extra shifts, putting others above themselves.”
I will always be grateful for the excellent care given to my own parents by the professional and caring staff at the Bent County Nursing Home in Las Animas in rural southeastern Colorado where I grew up.
Colorado has had a constant influx of new citizens since soldiers stationed here during World War II gravitated back. Defense industries, energy exploration, technology and immigration have prompted similar migrations to Colorado over the past 75 years.
Dynamic generations eventually age and give way to the next wave. Many of those who built our state over the decades retreat to nursing home care in the waning years of their lives. Their quiet existence blends into the background as exciting societal trends take the spotlight. The
State of Colorado did not deliberately overlook nursing homes nor did the state maliciously obfuscate the terrible losses in those facilities.
But there was a perplexing lapse of attention by the state and an outright refusal to release information about the impact of the coronavirus. The Polis administration has announced substantial new equipment for nursing homes, but almost certainly they will need ongoing support.
Our state benefits greatly from a dynamic population that is constantly being augmented by newcomers who choose to live here.
But let’s never overlook those who built this state in previous generations and who need our care today.