Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Society’s most vulnerable hit hardest by pandemic
Seniors represent more than 83 percent of all COVID-19 related deaths in Chester County since March
PENN » The mission to protect the most vulnerable in society inspired the nation to shut down in March.
Still, regionally the most vulnerable — senior citizens — have suffered the most from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The senior citizens of Chester County — and the Commonwealth as a whole — are an integral part of our community,” said State Sen. Andy Dinniman, D19th, of West Whiteland. “I have always worked hard as an advocate for our senior communities, and the livelihoods of seniors across my district has been a core issue of mine. What has happened these past few months is nothing short of tragic.”
“On the Senate floor, in my town halls and with everyone I speak with, I have been fighting for an increase of precautions in long-term care and nursing homes, I have been fighting for universal testing for everyone who lives and works inside them. Our senior citizens deserve better. We as a state ought to do better, and come together to do so.”
The first death happened on March 28, said Chester County coroner Christina VandePol.
According to the Chester County coroner’s office, more than 86 percent of all COVID-19 related deaths during the last 90 days occurred at assisted living facilities, representing 298 of 317 confirmed deaths total, as of press time on May 29.
VandePol said of 317 total deaths attributed to COVID-19, 298 were test confirmed.
In May, VandePol called for officials to probe the circumstances behind the spike in deaths at those facilities.
There are 75 licensed long-term care and personal care homes in Chester County, with nearly half of them experiencing a coronavirus outbreak. 30 Chester County facilities have reported one or more COVID-19 deaths to the coroner’s office, as previously reported. Seven of those facilities plus a nearby Montgomery County facility have had 10 or more residents die of confirmed or probable
COVID-19.
“The nursing home statistics are chilling and the stories downright horrifying,” said state Sen. Thomas Killion, R-9th, of Middletown. “We now know this virus disproportionately affects our seniors and those with underlying conditions. Pennsylvania’s response to nursing and congregate care facility infections has been disgraceful and inexcusable.”
In March, Wolf announced statewide mandated closures of the Pennsylvania economy. His administration broke down businesses into two basic categories: life-sustaining vs. non-essential. Based on these labels, the governor shut down small business enterprise industry by industry, sector by sector.
Hospitals, pharmacies and groceries plus gas stations, including Wawa, Sheetz and Turkey Hill, were granted gubernatorial permission to remain open as community providers of life-sustaining services. The extreme mitigation measures, government officials said, were to protect the most vulnerable. Seniors. “COVID-19 has been particularly devastating to our seniors in congregant living,” said state Rep. Christina Sappey, D-158th Dist., of West Bradford. “There have been the noted health impacts, but the isolation from loved ones has also been very difficult for them and their families.”
As for what is being done now to protect seniors, Sappey said, “In the House we have acted to appropriate funds that will go to testing, PPE and other measures for residents and staff in long-term care facilities, as well as funding for our regional health collaborators in academic medical institutions to use toward treatment and prevention of COVID-19.”
Since the pandemic began in March, Chester County’s death rate for COVID-19 never hit 1,000 people in April as government officials in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., early on feared.
Both private and staterun retirement communities, with assisted care support, have been under strict lockdown exposures since early March, as previously reported by the Daily Local News. Cases from the global plague have been trending down in Chester County lately.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, approximately 70 percent of all COVID-19-related deaths in the commonwealth have occurred at long-term senior living
facilities since March. East Vincent Township is home to the Southeastern Veterans Center, and the state-run assisted living facility has suffered the largest number of communal deaths, veterans and their spouses, in all of Chester County. To date, more than 33 veterans and their spouses have died at this senior citizen VFW facility after suffering fatal reactions from novel coronavirus exposure this spring.
With most deaths in the region occurring inside nursing homes under lockdown, the need to protect senior citizens from harm has never been greater.
Ahead of the June 2 primary, politicians running for office chimed in on the crisis and presented solutions to protect senior citizens in the days, weeks and months ahead.
“We have come a long way in a short time, and congregate care communities now have better access to PPE, protocols that are working for identification and isolation of those who are positive,” said State Rep. Danielle Friel Otten, D-155th, of Uwchlan. “This is going to be a long game though, we have a lot of work to do to protect our seniors and the people who care for them.
“Our senior living communities were in a vulnerable situation before COVID-19. Years of underfunding reimbursements from state government have been a huge burden to contend with for nursing homes. Workers make low wages, have few protections and do incredibly difficult work. Add to that existing challenge, workers are now getting sick and sometimes working more than one essential job to make ends meet.
“There was already an overwhelming shortage in the workforce, and now it has become even worse. I believe fixing this starts with making sure that one job is enough to keep a roof over your head, so that workers do not have to work multiple jobs in order to care for their own families.”
Otten said COVID-19 exposure of seniors is the greatest threat to their safety.
Newcomer Rose Danese, a medical technologist at Chester County Hospital, ran against Otten in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. She said key improvements are needed to support nurses and staff moving forward.
“I feel the best way to keep nursing home residents safe is to make sure they have adequate staffing,” Danese said. “There should always be enough nurses staffed for each floor so that they are not overwhelmed. There should always be enough nursing assistants’ on a floor as well. I believe nurses and nursing assistants should not be tasked with duties like trash and laundry, and I feel there should be separate staffing for that covering all shifts and areas of the facility.”
Since March, the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. and worldwide has propelled governments to mandate stay-at-home orders for the old and young alike. Data shows that the elderly are most susceptible to suffer fatalities from COVID-19.
Millions of grandparents across America, as a result, cannot see their grandchildren for traditional family dinners or even special occasions, including milestones.
Yet, there is hope. Families are waving to one another from behind closed windows, and thanks to contemporary technology, video conferencing courtesy of Zoom, Skype, FaceTime and Google Duo enables grandparents to say hi to their children and grandchildren virtually.
And while grandparents are hurting, their grandchildren miss them very much, too. Children are crying while on Zoom with loved ones because they miss them, they want to hug them, and they want this crisis “to be over.”
Long-term facilities for senior citizens are rising to the occasion to keep their residents safe.
Earlier this spring, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) announced the implementation of a series of measures to mitigate COVID-19 and protect the health of residents and staff at Pennsylvania’s state centers, state hospitals, youth development centers and youth forestry camps.
All visitors are currently prohibited from all state center and state hospital campuses, youth development centers and youth forestry camps, the department said. The policy shall remain in place until guidance from public-health professionals changes.
Exceptions include visits of medical necessity, visits by probation departments or legal counsel, as well as family and clergy visits approved by the facility director. Residents of state hospitals maintain their rights to attorney consultations. Any visitor permitted must undergo a health screening upon arrival prior to entry.
In southern Chester County, the Friends Home on State Street in downtown Kennett Square and Jenner’s Pond Retirement Community in Penn Township have kept a vigilant watch on their seniors since the pandemic began.
Starting on March 3, Friends Home implemented extensive procedures for cleaning. On March 10, all outside trips were canceled, all inside entertainment was postponed, and all visitations were suspended, according to Christine McDonald, executive director. Friends Home is a private institution and was established in 1898.
Founded in 1998, Jenner’s Pond Retirement Community, also private, in Penn Township recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. It is home to 350 independent residents; 55 people are residents of assisted living; 25 people live in the skilled nursing community.
Like Friends Home, Jenner’s Pond stopped allowing visitors earlier in March.
Barbara Croyle, executive director, said on May 29 that everyone at Jenner’s Pond is “doing well, still COVID free.”
The ban on visitors won’t be lifted for some time and will depend on instructions from federal and state agencies as well as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Croyle
said independent living residents should see visitors this summer.
She thanked the community and said people have donated masks, sent cards and held a surprise parade, featuring vintage cars, through the campus earlier this spring.
Croyle said she is “grateful for all the support we’ve received.” She added thanks for special work achieved by the community at-large including allowing special shopping hours for senior citizens at grocery stores.