Coronavirus exposes gaps in infection controls for senior-care homes

By national standards, the nursing home at the center of the U.S. outbreak of a new coronavirus ranked far better than most.

Life Care Center of Kirkland earned five stars from a federal regulator, which means it is “much above average” in measures such as staffing and the quality of care it provides. While inspectors found lapses in infection control at the Seattle-area home during an April survey, these caused minimal harm, they determined.

This strong track record did not spare at least seven Life Care residents from dying from the new coronavirus in recent weeks, raising concerns that such an outbreak could happen at long-term care centers in Georgia and elsewhere. Early evidence suggests that older people — especially those with existing health problems — are more vulnerable to the new coronavirus and more likely to die from it, much like the flu.

Public health officials went on alert.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued guidance for long-term care homes, while the federal agency that regulates nursing homes advised them to watch visitors and staff for signs of sickness. The agency overseeing Medicare and Medicaid said it had directed local agencies responsible for inspecting nursing homes to focus their inspections solely on infection control, a directive covering 15,000 nursing homes across the country.

....

With no coronavirus vaccine available and testing hard to get, long-term care homes need to focus on staying clear of the virus, said Dr. Swati Gaur, a Gainesville geriatrician who helped write guidance on preventing coronavirus spread for The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.