YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The Wolf Administration is rethinking its testing strategies with a new plan to fight COVID-19 in nursing homes. The state will begin universal testing of residents and staff in long-term care facilities.
These facilities have become the epicenter of coronavirus-related deaths in the Commonwealth. The statewide death toll is 3,806 and out of those deaths, 2,611 have occurred in residents from nursing homes or personal care facilities.
Many families fear the state has not done enough to protect their loved ones and the people who care for them.
“My mom’s always been my best friend and this is just unthinkable,” said Kelly Skiptunas. Her 89-year-old mother lives at SpiriTrust Lutheran nursing home in Manchester Township, York County.
Skiptunas was shocked to learn the facility recently admitted a patient who tested positive for COVID-19.
“I know how hard [staff] is working to keep these folks safe,” Skiptunas added. “To just literally bring it in the back door into a facility that did not have it, it’s very risky and very scary.”
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Nursing homes are reeling from the COVID-19 outbreak. Employees and advocates argue they have not gotten the help they need from the state.
“The state provided some PPE over time, but not enough. There was some testing over time, but not enough,” explained Adam Marles, President and CEO of LeadingAge PA. “The combination of inadequate support and a virus that really attacks older people has created a nightmare scenario in some cases.”
According to the health advisory released by the Department of Health Tuesday, widespread testing is now recommended in facilities with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. In facilities that do not have known cases of COVID-19, state health officials recommend testing 20 percent of staff and residents weekly to identify early transmission. If any results come back positive, the facility should plan to do facility-wide testing.
The state also issued guidance on how facilities should cohort exposed and potentially exposed residents. Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s Health Secretary, said the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) will help with on-site inspections and the National Guard will provide staffing support.
“I would respectfully disagree with the organizations that are saying they were left behind. They were not,” said Dr. Levine. “We were focusing on these facilities in the beginning.”
However, some families and nursing home staff disagree. Marles said nursing homes had been asking for the state’s help since the first coronavirus cases were reported at a Washington state nursing home in February. Skiptunas also said she had to help staff at her mother’s nursing home find masks.
“They didn’t have even have enough masks at that point,” said Skiptunas. “We weren’t even thinking yet about the gowns and all the other things that they need.”
She fears people, like her mom, have been forgotten.
“We’re dropping the ball. We’re not helping them. We’re not doing what we need to do to step up and protect them from this, especially when you bring a COVID-19 patient in somewhere that was COVID-19 free,” declared Skiptunas.