Union: Showering stopped over PPE shortage

A lack of federal and state guidance, coupled with limited availability of protective gear, is inhibiting Connecticut’s nursing homes residents from getting to shower, with workers instead sponge-bathing many residents in their beds.

That’s according to the union representing front-line staff at 69 nursing homes in the state, the operator of 24 long-term care facilities, and the leader of the state association representing providers of for-profit nursing homes.

The issue came to the fore during a Connecticut Department of Public Health conference call last week with nursing home providers, where officials recommended that workers discard personal protective equipment, or PPE, after each shower or bath, as well as throughly clean the bathing facility.

“Assisting residents with COVID-19 showering can be high-risk, and staff should use full PPE, however the PPE will get all wet and will need to be discarded after each shower,” Dr. Vivian Leung, an epidemiologist who oversees infection surveillanceat the state’s Department of Public Health, told The Mirror.

Showers and baths enhance the “burn rate” of personal protective equipment, according to Matthew Barrett, president of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, the for-profit state association leader.

Despite a sizable recent PPE shipment to the state, it’s been perpetually in short supply throughout the pandemic. So in the interest of conserving their equipment, many nursing home providers have opted to clean some residents – often those who have a confirmed or suspected COVID-19-positive status – via sponge baths.