Avoiding Panic, Educating Staff Keys to Surviving Coronavirus Scare

The U.S. Senate approved $8.3 billion in emergency funding on Thursday in response to COVID-19, more commonly known as the coronavirus. At least 11 deaths have now been tied to the virus in the United States, with California officially declaring a state of emergency.

For the home-based care industry, aggressive preparation has become paramount, especially as providers try to position themselves as solutions within their local markets.

Within senior care broadly, a growing concern is how the coronavirus will be contained if it spreads to more nursing homes and into senior housing communities. It appears the virus’s death rate is higher than the flu’s, with older adults especially vulnerable, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In China — where the virus originated — just 0.2% of people between the ages of 10 and 39 have died after falling ill with the virus. For individuals between the ages of 70 and 79, that jumps to 8%, with individuals older than 80 seeing a mortality rate of nearly 15%.

Despite the grim statistics, the No. 1 thing providers need to remember is that panic is counterproductive, Linda Murphy, COO of Concierge Home Care, told Home Health Care News.

Concierge Home Care has six locations in north and central Florida that primarily provide Medicare-certified home health services.

“Honestly, we are just treating it like we do a flu epidemic or anything else that we’ve seen over the past two years,” Murphy said, adding that her agency is following all recommended protection measures and guidelines from the CDC and WHO. “I don’t feel like we’re overreacting to it at this point. We’re taking every precaution we can without putting anybody in a panic, by any means.”