Tag Archives: nursing home

Reporter takes readers inside a nursing home’s effort to fight COVID-19

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About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

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Photo: Scouse Smurf via Flickr

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing homes throughout California were preparing for a wave of cases. Older adults, particularly those who are frail or have multiple chronic conditions, are among those at the highest risk of developing COVID-19 and dying from the complications.

The New York Times reports that, as of Nov. 27, more than 101,000 nursing home residents and workers have died of COVID-19, roughly 39% of all U.S. deaths from the virus.

Sacramento Bee reporter Jason Pohl decided to look at homes with the most problems; those with violations, poor ratings and dodgy inspection reports.

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Staffing levels, not just hotspots, can predict nursing home COVID deaths, study says

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About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

Photo: Zeev Barkan via Flickr

Since the first COVID-19 outbreak in a Seattle-area nursing home in February, at least 55,000 deaths, more than 42% of the U.S. total, have been linked to nursing homes, assisted living and other long-term care facilities as of July 7, according to a national database compiled by The New York Times.

Now a new academic study supports what many already suspected: residents of long-term care facilities with lower nurse staffing levels, poorer quality scores, and higher concentrations of disadvantaged residents suffer from higher rates of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. Continue reading →

How can states keep nursing home residents safe during the pandemic? 

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About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

Photo: Deborah Crowe

When we first learned of widespread incidence and deaths from COVID-19 in a Seattle-area nursing home, many in the aging and health care fields already knew what was ahead. Since early March, Missouri, California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania and nearly every other state have reported cases, More than 5,500 nursing home residents had died from coronavirus-related conditions as of April 15.

The real number undoubtedly is higher, since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services only recently announced new regulatory requirements to report cases of COVID-19 directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many deaths early in the pandemic likely were attributed to age-related complications from flu, pneumonia, or pre-existing heart and breathing problems. So how are states helping to protect their most vulnerable residents? Continue reading →

Men without caregivers at greater risk for nursing home placement following stroke

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About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health via Flickr

Male stroke survivors over age 65 may be three times as likely to end up in a nursing home within five years if they lack a caregiver compared with those who have someone to assist them, according to a new study. A similar risk was not seen in female stroke survivors.

The findings suggest that clinicians should remain aware of the critical role of caregivers in helping older adults remain independent. Continue reading →