Although nursing home regulators were warned about the potential for the Coronavirus to decimate one of the state’s nursing homes, they did not take immediate action to intervene. An investigation by a news organization recently reported that officials were made aware as early as March 25 that the nursing home was floundering in its ability to protect residents from the Coronavirus.
A caregiver in the facility filed a complaint at that time expressing concerns about inadequate safeguards and the potential for deaths due to the Coronavirus. That caregiver wrote, “We have residents who I believe will not survive, and I’m fearful for them.”
The nursing home was completely evacuated by May 5, but the damage was done—120 people contracted the virus and 34 of those died. One out of every four COVID-19 deaths reported in Oregon was attributed to the nursing home’s outbreak
Authorities blamed these aspects of poor infection control for the spread of the virus: lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), employees not observing proper handwashing protocols between interactions with residents, and workers transporting the virus by caring for both infected and non-infected residents.
State officials report that they investigated the complaints regarding the facility, gave repeated notifications to the nursing home about the facility’s need to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and assisted the nursing home in finding additional staffing. Eventually, the Department of Health (DOH) ordered the facility to close.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to implement an effective Infection Prevention and Control program by not following the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) guidelines for preventing the spread of the Coronavirus can result in the spread of COVID-19, multiple related deaths, and ultimately the closing of a facility. Providing this substandard quality of care is a violation of state and federal regulations.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures for the facility’s Infection Prevention and Control Plan to include separating residents with COVID-19 from non-infected residents, having consistent assignments for staff so there is no crossover of caring for both COVID-19 positive and negative residents, appropriately responding to notifications from the state’s DOH, and planning for and providing sufficient PPE for staff use during an outbreak like COVID-19.
- Train staff on proper sanitation protocols and wearing of PPE and the need to avoid transferring the infection by caring for both infected and non-infected residents.
- Periodically audit to determine if staff are observing required sanitation protocols, including proper use of PPE, performing hand hygiene per the guidelines, and avoiding situations where the virus can be spread to residents who do not have the disease.
