AHCA / NCAL, AMDA blast ‘short-sighted’ plans to discharge people with COVID-19 from hospitals to long-term care facilities

“Blanket, one-size-fits-all” statewide orders barring long-term care facilities from denying admission based solely on confirmed or suspected COVID-19 diagnoses, or prohibiting long-term care facilities from requiring COVID-19 tests prior to admission or re-admission of hospitalized residents, are “a short-term and short-sighted solution that will only add to the surge in COVID-19 patients that require hospital care,” the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living and AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine said in a joint statement released Sunday.

The organizations cited a recent New York state order applying to nursing homes but said their concerns extended to assisted living communities as well, and they noted that other states “may already be adopting a similar approach in order to free up hospital beds.”

“As organizations dedicated to preserving the safety of patients and residents in post-acute and long-term care settings including assisted living, we strongly object to this policy directive and approach to developing surge capacity,” they said.

“The question all state officials must consider is whether the risk of introducing a virus with an estimated 30% or higher mortality rate into a nursing home or assisted living community outweighs the risk of hospitals being overcrowded,” AHCA / NCAL and AMDA said. “Regrettably, this is a difficult decision that many officials will be facing now or in the near future. However, it is not a binary decision. Alternative settings for patients recovering from COVID-19 must be considered and implemented now, including large field hospitals, dormitories, hotels, and shuttered nursing homes or hospitals.”