As coronavirus death count rises, Florida nursing homes still face testing challenges

As Florida prepares to reopen its economy, the state’s nursing homes and assisted-living facilities are facing challenges in conducting the widespread testing needed to find and isolate hidden carriers of the disease that can cause deadly outbreaks.

The Florida National Guard has dispatched 50 “strike teams" to test nursing home staff members and residents. That has provided much-needed help to facilities trying to contain outbreaks.

But testing varies immensely across the industry, and many facilities still don’t have the resources to test all workers and residents even if they aren’t showing symptoms, said Chris Laxton, executive director of The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. That’s despite more than 300 coronavirus deaths being linked to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in Florida alone.

Catholic Health Services, which operates three nursing homes in South Florida, has been “begging” for test kits for residents and staff in recent weeks, said spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta.

“We need help,” Agosta said. "We need to have these patients tested. They are the most vulnerable.”

Last week, the National Guard tested all 216 employees at St. Anne’s Nursing Center in Miami-Dade County, but only 18 of the facility’s 200 residents, Agosta said.

The National Guard plans to return on Wednesday to test the remaining residents at St. Anne’s, which has four residents and 11 staff members who have tested positive, she said. The National Guard is also planning to visit St. John’s Nursing Center in Lauderdale Lakes, which has had a staff member and a resident who was transferred out of the facility test positive.

The state’s assistance is appreciated, but ideally, all residents and staff would be tested every 14 days, Agosta said.

Laxton said nursing homes face a variety of challenges in testing at that level.

Swabs and other testing supplies are often prioritized for hospitals. Nursing homes with small staffs don’t have enough workers to do the tests. Overwhelmed labs have limited capacity, and it can take days if not over a week for results to be returned.

Some nursing home owners are reluctant to test people without symptoms because they fear it will make their facilities look bad because they will have more cases, Laxton said.

“Nursing home owners are often quite reluctant to create that sense that the building is sick," he said. "They think it is going to create fear and panic in the community. I don’t think that is the right approach. The more data you have, the better you can control an epidemic.”

Testing will take on even more importance with Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing his reopening plan on Wednesday. His monthlong stay-home order runs through Thursday.

State leaders should mandate a regimen that tests nursing home and assisted-living facility workers regularly for the virus, said Jeff Johnson, AARP’s Florida state director.

“Reopening other parts of the economy will expose long-term care workers, and by extension residents, to more opportunities to contract the virus and spread it within facilities unless preventive measures are taken," he said.

Laxton said he doesn’t think the pandemic’s curve has flattened for vulnerable residents of nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.