HARRISBURG, Pa. — Troubling numbers continue to come out of Pennsylvania’s nursing homes. FOX43 reveals seniors in some nursing homes are still dying at high rates.
Between June 24 and June 29, there were 18 coronavirus-related deaths among nursing home residents in Dauphin County. At least 41 residents of Spring Creek Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Swatara Township have died since March.
“Every person who has a diagnosis of COVID-19, here in Dauphin County, they are calculated as a COVID-19 death, even if they were hospice,” said Mary Ann Chaklos, Spring Creek Administrator.
Chaklos said they have enough personal protective equipment for residents and staff, adding that the facility recently received 12 cases of masks and shields. However, mitigating the threat of COVID-19 remains an ongoing process.
Nearly 70 percent of residents had tested positive for the virus as of June 23, according to data from the Department of Health. Residents who test positive are put into a 14-day isolation, Chaklos said.
“We had two recent positives as a result of the state mandated testing. Those residents were asymptomatic. Even as we see the numbers slowing, we can’t let our guard down,” added Chaklos. “We are still keeping all of our protocols in place.”
The death toll in nursing homes accounts for 68 percent of all coronavirus-related deaths in the Commonwealth. AARP’s Pennsylvania State Director, Bill Johnston-Walsh, called the numbers outrageous and said the organization “is very concerned about what’s going on.”
“The concern is that, as of right now, a lot of what we’ve been hearing is that residents and their family members have been kept in the dark,” explained Johnston-Walsh.
Universal testing can help prevent COVID-19 from racing virtually unchecked through nursing homes. Governor Tom Wolf issued an order requiring nursing homes to test every resident and staff at least once by July 24.
However, Johnston-Walsh said some long-term care facilities in the state have not done any COVID-19 testing. AARP members are urging the state to allocate more resources to nursing homes and prepare for a potential resurgence of infections.
“We’re hoping that nursing homes, the governor, and hospitals are going to be taking this time to be able to get the resources that they need,” Johnston-Walsh said.
The Pennsylvania departments of Health and Human Services recently issued guidance to long-term care facilities regarding in-person visitation. To reopen for visitors, nursing homes must not have any new outbreaks among residents and staff over a two-week period.
Any new cases of COVID-19 halts in-person visits at that facility for at least 28 days, according to the three-step reopening process.
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA) joined Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams in Philadelphia for a roundtable discussion on long-term care facilities.
During the discussion, PHCA providers identified several opportunities for increased collaboration from federal and state partners to support them in the fight against COVID-19, including:
-Help improving testing accessibility
-A dedicated funding stream to support ongoing universal testing and ongoing increased supply and expenses as a result of COVID-19
-Review of regulatory requirements
-Staffing and training program waivers
-Identifying and eliminating burdensome requirements
-Streamlining and standardizing approach to surveys
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