House Holds Hearing on COVID Impact in Nursing Homes

Last week, the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis convened a hearing, Examining Long-Term Care in America: The Impact of the Coronavirus in Nursing Homes. Witnesses included nursing home experts, advocates, and frontline workers; Dr. Alice Bonner from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Dr. David Grabowski from the Harvard Medical School both testified. The hearing focused generally on the challenges posed by COVID within the nursing home setting and steps to ensure the long-term care system is prepared in the future. Specifically, witnesses and members discussed issues involving staffing, paid sick leave, early PPE supply shortages, and structural issues involving the long-term care system.   

As part of the hearing, the subcommittee released a report focusing on for-profit nursing home chains, staff shortages, PPE shortages, and how this relates to patient care. The hearing transcript can be found here.