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Congress Must Provide Additional Relief Funds For Long Term Care Providers. (2020). Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Press-Releases/Pages/Congress-Must-Provide-Additional-Relief-Funds-For-Long-Term-Care-Providers.aspx

Nursing Homes Continue to Face PPE Shortages and Require Ongoing Support as the Pandemic Lingers. (2020, October 29). Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://www.ahcancal.org/News-and-Communications/Press-Releases/Pages/Nursing-Homes-Continue-to-Face-PPE-Shortages-and-Require-Ongoing-Support-as-the-Pandemic-Lingers.aspx

A report created by U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier GroupBy Teresa Murray, U. (2020). Nursing home safety during COVID: PPE shortages. Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/nursing-home-safety-during-covid-ppe-shortages

Weekend Roundup 10/23. (2020). Retrieved November 22, 2020, from https://art19.com/shows/weekend-roundup/episodes/48e5f4e9-3d85-479b-a90e-19e07fa0e363

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Aside from increases in supplies, what other measures can facilities take to protect residents?

How will LTC facilities be prioritized? Will vaccine and supply distribution center around the at-risk populations or workers exposed to them?

Will facilities face another resource constraint due to higher demand post-pandemic?

How will government aid affect regulation/legislation towards LTC?

Will LTC and residents be prioritized post-pandemic?

Would reprioritizing affect other at-risk demographics or healthcare entities?

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During the initial COVID-19 public health crisis, many nursing homes and LTC facilities were immediately struck with supply shortages in PPE (personal protective equipment). The article below addresses the major obstacles and data associated with this problem. This issue is especially important due to the susceptible population living in these facilities.

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Long term care residents and staff have felt the full brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first few months of the public health crisis, nursing homes and assisted living communities, like many other health care facilities, grappled with severe personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages. These critical supplies are especially important in long term care settings because their residents are more susceptible to the virus. After months of continued calls for help and support, these facilities were finally able to acquire PPE and other resources to fight off the virus.

However, with the country in the midst of a significant uptick in COVID-19 cases, many long term care facilities are again without adequate supplies of the most crucial protective gear.

A recent study conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) found that nursing homes are confronting shortages of equipment like masks and gowns. The study found several alarming data points, including:

One in five facilities were dangerously low on one or more items, like gloves and hand sanitizer

46 percent of all nursing homes nationwide reported at some point this summer that they didn't have a one-week supply of at least one type of PPE

226,495 nursing home residents in 2,981 nursing homes nationwide were at risk because the homes they resided in had dangerously low supplies of one or more types of PPE

Already, nursing homes in Texas are facing critical shortages. A study found, "More than 20% of nursing homes had less than one-week supply of one or more types of PPE" and "12.7% of nursing homes had a critical shortage of N95 masks." Texan nursing homes are not alone - facilities all across the country are facing the same problem.

We can prevent further shortages from happening with more help. We have already seen what support from lawmakers can provide. When Congress and the Administration rallied around long term care facilities earlier this year, facilities were able to replenish their PPE supplies and better protect their residents and staff. We saw cases in these facilities drop and recoveries increase. We are extremely grateful for the support the long term care industry has already received, but we risk taking a step in the wrong direction if the emerging shortages are not addressed.

Janet Snipes, executive director of Holly Heights Care Center in Denver, Colorado recently made this point to CBS Radio. "I do want to emphasize that we appreciate everything that we have received from CMS and from the government and public officials, but we need them to continue to prioritize long term care," Snipes said. She also made the point that while they have some supplies, such as N-95 masks, they lack different sizes and the resources needed to ensure the masks are properly fitted to the wearer's face.

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) continues to call on Congress to provide additional aid to the long term care industry to ensure every facility is equipped to protect their residents and the heroic staff caring for them. AHCA/NCAL also calls upon the private sector to support this effort, asking manufacturers and suppliers to make long term care facilities a priority for supplies. Individuals in these facilities cannot afford to wait any longer for equipment like masks, gloves and hand sanitizer. They need help now.

As the country faces a rise in COVID cases, it's critical that every nursing home and assisted living community receive the necessary PPE to fight off this deadly virus. We cannot wait for shortages to worsen and cases to rise before we act. We must continue to come together and rally behind the long term care industry - our elderly population depends on it.

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represents more than 14,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahcancal.org or www.ncal.org.

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Nursing Homes Continue to Face PPE Shortages and Require Ongoing Support as the Pandemic Lingers

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Long term care residents and staff have felt the full brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first few months of the public health crisis, nursing homes and assisted living communities, like many other health care facilities, grappled with severe personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages.

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According to a study conducted by the U.S Public Interest Research Group...

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The in-depth report into PPE shortages, its impact, the cause, and actions needing to be taken...

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The in-depth report into PPE shortages, its impact, the cause, and actions needing to be taken...

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This report expounds on the tree graphic/study conducted by the U.S. PIRG

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As of late August, 226,495 residents in 2,981 nursing homes nationwide were at risk because the homes had dangerously low supplies of one or more types of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as N95 masks or gowns, according to data submitted to the federal government. That means that 20 percent of nursing homes in late August had a less-than-one-week supply of one or more types of PPE, which represents a critical shortage by industry standards.

The shortages actually became more grave as the summer went on, with three times as many nursing homes reporting they were completely out of masks, gowns and eye protection in late August, compared with mid-July.

Forty-six percent of all nursing homes nationwide reported they didn't have a one-week supply of at least one type of PPE at some point from May through August. A one-week supply is considered the minimum acceptable. If a home has an outbreak, it can burn through its limited supply in a day or two. In addition, a home may have no idea when its next shipment of PPE may arrive. Homes with less than one week's supply often ration, forcing workers to re-use PPE or go without.

In January, the U.S. government declared a public health emergency in response to the global threat from the coronavirus. Yet seven months after the public health emergency declaration, this nation was still experiencing dangerous shortages of PPE.

It's not entirely surprising that while nursing homes contain less than one-half of 1 percent of the U.S. population, they've produced 3 percent of the nation's COVID-19 cases and 27 percent of deaths.

Experts believe nursing homes have been hit harder in part because the living space is tighter, residents are there around-the-clock, and people in nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities are generally older and in poorer health than the overall population. Certainly, the PPE shortages have made difficult situations even worse.

Workers are generally expected to change their PPE before every new patient to avoid potentially transferring the coronavirus from one patient to another.

"The consequences are devastating," said Dr. David Gifford, chief medical officer at the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), the nation's largest industry association. "Long-term care is not a profession where social distancing is possible - caregivers must closely interact with their patients and residents to provide the utmost care."

The impact of PPE shortages? It goes beyond putting individual patients at risk. Experts say:

Outbreaks can and do occur rapidly in a setting such as a nursing home.

Workers go home and can spread the virus to family members or to others in the community when they go to the grocery store, church or other public places.

Workers can get sick and be unable to work, or be exposed and need to quarantine. Either of these can cause staff shortages.

Even if workers aren't getting sick, they're getting stressed.

Stressed workers are at more risk of illness. And stressed workers, especially aides and others who may earn barely more than minimum wage, are more likely to quit.

It's clear the nation as a whole didn't have adequate amounts of PPE to handle a once-in-a-century global pandemic. (No explanations have been provided about why the Strategic National Stockpile under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services didn't have more supplies.)

Nursing homes usually buy PPE individually through third-party suppliers, the AHCA said. But the supply chain has been completely disrupted this year. "During this pandemic, providers were desperate for PPE, creating their own or even trying to buy it off Amazon," Gifford said.

Overall, the shortages were more severe in some states because of myriad reasons: outbreaks, economics, poor planning, politics or some combination of those.

Demand for PPE is coming from every sector of the economy, not just health care. The world supply chain was strained. The AHCA begged the federal and state governments to help nursing homes and assisted living centers, Gifford said. But long-term care facilities weren't prioritized to receive PPE, he said.

Robyn Grant, director of public policy and advocacy at the nonprofit National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, said the U.S. government didn't provide much help: a two-week supply of PPE. In addition, a number of facilities reported that some of the PPE was defective, including gowns with no arm holes and expired N95 masks, Grant said.

As bad as it was in the spring, it got worse, with PPE shortages skyrocketing in nursing homes in mid-July. Experts blame three phenomena: the reopening of restaurants and other businesses in many states in June and July; outbreaks in the South as people flocked to vacation spots and started enjoying summer fun; and the resumption of activities within other medical businesses such as elective surgeries, in-person doctor's appointments and veterinary procedures.

The PPE shortages exist across various health care settings, according to the American Nurses Association (ANA), which in September released a survey of 21,000 nurses nationwide. Forty-two percent of them said they continue to cope with "widespread or intermittent" shortages of PPE.

PPE shortages in nursing homes put residents and staff at greater risk of getting the virus and spreading it, Grant said.

"We have heard staff say that they have been required to use one mask for days, and that in some cases they have had to use garbage bags because there weren't enough gowns," she said. "We've also heard staff talk about how worried they are about taking the virus back home to their loved ones." Reusing a mask violates health care protocols.

We face the possibility of a brutal fall and winter if another wave of COVID-19 combined with a normal flu season further strains PPE supplies. Three months ago, a 25-member commission of non-partisan experts, organized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, issued urgent warnings that the problem will become more dire. In its updated report in September, the Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes said homes continue to be plagued by shortages in PPE, as well as testing and staffing shortages.

"Additional federal action is necessary to ensure sufficient availability of high-quality testing and PPE," the commission wrote. "Without this, and related training, the virus will continue to spread."
Here's what's needed:

Full use of the Defense Production Act to increase U.S. production of PPE.

Passage of the Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act, which was introduced in Congress in the spring, to improve the supply chain so it's centralized and transparent. This would also help keep prices stable because states, individual health care facilities, school systems and businesses wouldn't be competing against each other for supplies.

In the absence of federal coordination, states need to find their own solutions, including forming multi-state consortiums for regional supply chains, so they're not competing against each other for the same PPE, tests and equipment.

Money in a new COVID relief bill to help nursing homes.

The federal and state governments to prioritize getting PPE to providers coping with severe shortages.

Something must change soon. "Our health care heroes are risking their own safety and security to continue their valiant work of caring for our nation's most vulnerable," Gifford said. "And we must rally around them and our vulnerable residents."

How to find information (PPE shortages, staff shortages, outbreaks, etc.) about a specific nursing home.

How to look up all nursing homes in a particular city, zip code.

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Nursing home safety during COVID: PPE shortages

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Thousands of nursing homes nationwide are dealing with horrific shortages of masks, gowns and other items they need to protect residents, workers and the broader community from COVID-19. And seven months into this pandemic, the shortages have actually become much worse.

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After continued calls for help, Congress/government entities provided aid in supplies and support. Despite their help, further efforts and prioritization will be needed to protect nursing home residents

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After continued calls for help, Congress/government entities provided aid in supplies and support. Despite their help, further efforts and prioritization will be needed to protect nursing home residents

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Starting at 16:05, Janet Snipes, executive director at Holly Heights Care Center of Denver, CO addresses the continued need for support

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Our CBS News team in Washington wraps up the news of the week and goes deep into the major stories with CBS News correspondents. It's the end-of-week news magazine show you can take with you wherever you go. (046510)

We are less than two weeks away from Election Day. CBS News Correspondent Allison Keyes and CBS White House Correspondent Steven Portnoy look at the issues discussed during the final debate between President Donald Trump and his democratic rival, Joe Biden. CBS This Morning's Tony Dokoupil joins Allison to talk about his special election series, "At America's Crossroads," where he interviews undecided voters. Allison also speaks with prolific actor Larenz Tate about his latest movie, "Business Ethics," which is going straight to streaming services on Friday. In this week's Kaleidoscope, how an outreach effort by the Trump campaign is making inroads with black male voters and LGBTQ voters are registered in much higher numbers this year. Allison speaks with Democratic pollster Terrance Woodbury and GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate.

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We are less than two weeks away from Election Day. CBS News Correspondent Allison Keyes and CBS White House Correspondent Steven Portnoy look at the issues discussed during the final debate between President Donald Trump and his democratic rival, Joe Biden.

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In wake of the winter season and a potential uptick in risk, healthcare entities also call for continued government support and funding. 

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In wake of the winter season and a potential uptick in risk, healthcare entities also call for continued government support and funding. 

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The AHCA/NCAL represents the interest of thousands of skilled nursing/LTC/sub -acute facilities with the goal of improving the lives of the elderly and frail.

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​As discussions around the next stimulus bill continue, the health of millions of long term care residents and staff is at stake. Billions of dollars are on the line to help the country address the impact of COVID-19, and the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) is encouraging lawmakers to legislate and pass a relief package. In July, AHCA/NCAL requested priority in the next stimulus bill, including:

A two-pronged approach to testing that provides financial support for increased and prioritized testing for providers and residents.

An additional $100 billion to the Provider Relief Fund with a substantial portion dedicated to long term care.

​Vaccine priority to residents and staff.

Most of the $175 billion Provider Relief Fund provided in April by the CARES Act has already been distributed, but long term care providers will need additional funding to continue fighting the virus - especially with new COVID cases now rising among the general population in the majority of the country.

AHCA/NCAL released a report last week that showed that a third spike in cases could occur in long term care facilities due to increasing community spread. Recent data from Johns Hopkins and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) shows that weekly nursing home cases rose in late September for the first time in seven weeks after new cases dropped significantly throughout August and early September. According to Johns Hopkins, COVID cases in the general U.S. population rose by 62,139 cases per week in late September correlating with an uptick in nursing home cases during the week of September 27.

With a third spike looming, long term care providers need reinforced support. Adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), including gowns, gloves and N95 masks, and timely testing are the most effective ways to keep residents and staff safe. These supplies are especially important as some states move to resume visitation. But these resources come with considerable costs, which is why additional funding from Congress is so critical.

Without replenishing funds, the country could repeat the same mistakes that were made during the initial outbreak in the spring and the major spike over the summer. Nursing homes and assisted living communities could find themselves unprepared for the challenges of the upcoming winter season, which could inevitably result in an uptick in new COVID cases.

We cannot forget that the virus still poses a considerable threat to long term care residents and staff. Congress must prioritize our vulnerable seniors and their caregivers by passing another bill as soon as possible. The funding long term care providers have received thus far has helped, but without another round of funding, providers risk losing the progress they've made.

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represents more than 14,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahcancal.org or www.ncal.org.

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Congress Must Provide Additional Relief Funds For Long Term Care Providers

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​As discussions around the next stimulus bill continue, the health of millions of long term care residents and staff is at stake. Billions of dollars are on the line to help the country address the impact of COVID-19, and the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) is encouraging lawmakers to legislate and pass a relief package.