Strength of character on display at state nursing homes
Across the nation, and especially here in Connecticut, Americans are showing the strength of their character as we confront a historic threat together. As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on, individual acts of bravery have become everyday occurrences. Nowhere is this more on display than in Connecticut nursing homes.
The threat facing those in long-term care cannot be understated. Because many people who are infected remain asymptomatic, it makes efforts to prevent the virus from being introduced into facilities extremely difficult. And once it is introduced into an environment with a highly vulnerable population, it is hard to impede its spread.
Because of this, long-term care providers have taken unprecedented steps to protect their residents. The most visible action has been the painful step of prohibiting visits from family members and other loved ones. Unfortunately, even with these significant measures in place and facilities following all guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and other public health officials, more than 3,600 long-term care facilities have been impacted by the virus in America. In Connecticut, more than half of Connecticut’s 213 nursing homes are battling the virus.
Yet, in the face of this challenge, nursing home employees who care for acutely at-risk residents who live in these facilities are stepping up and performing with valor. While there has been appropriate focus on nursing home residents who have lost the battle against the virus, many more are recovering.
Many of us will never know what it feels like to leave our families every morning and go to work to provide life-sustaining care. We can only imagine what goes through the mind of a heroic nursing home employee entering a facility where COVID-19 is present. For these caregivers, it is their calling and it is something they do on a daily basis in normal times. But in this extraordinary moment, it is all the more admirable. They do so putting their own health, and the health of their facilities, at risk.
That is why we need to do everything we can to give them the support they need. In fact, providing this support benefits the entire health care system, especially hospitals, in the COVID-19 response. Put bluntly, Connecticut’s overall hospital surge plan is significantly undermined if nursing home issues are not addressed. Preventing spread in nursing homes and assisted living facilities is an essential element of relieving pressure on hospitals.
The challenges are not from a single source, nor are the solutions, but here are the three most important issues. All are inextricably linked: t Nursing homes need personal protective equipment, including masks, gowns and gloves, to keep caregivers safe. The providers, the government and the community have come together to deliver the needed equipment, but much more needs to be done. t Nursing homes need access to critical testing tools that would help them to identify and isolate staff and residents who have been exposed to the virus. Testing is becoming more widely available, but we are not there yet. t Nursing homes need an assurance of adequate funding to actually cover the true and escalating cost of staffing and other costs during this pandemic. The rising cost of PPE, sanitation supplies and enhanced compensation are examples of the unanticipated and extraordinary costs. A strong partnership between the nursing homes and the government has emerged, but very likely more will be needed.
Addressing PPE, testing and staffing together is essential. It will matter little if PPE supply is present but staffing is not. Testing can inform isolation strategies, but those plans can’t be implemented if PPE is not available.
It is time we step up and support those who are caring for those most vulnerable to this virus. There is reason to be hopeful. Even though residents of longterm care are particularly at-risk due to age and underlying health conditions, most recover from the virus.
But caregivers can do even more amazing work if we just get them the basic tools they need: tests and protective equipment.