Nursing home association urges ‘dramatic action’ to protect residents from coronavirus

The top nursing home industry group is calling for “dramatic action” to slow the spread of coronavirus, given the vulnerability of the elderly to the virus. 

“Our priority right now is to prevent the virus from getting into long term care centers and if it does get in, to prevent it from spreading,” Mark Parkinson, CEO of the American Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes and assisted living facilities, said in a statement. “We believe providers must take dramatic action to limit individuals from entering our buildings and to ensure that employees who are sick stay home.”

The association is calling for limiting entry from “non-essential” people into nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 

For people who do enter, they recommend screening them for symptoms. The group also calls for increasing the ability for remote communication, cutting down on group outings and increasing hand-washing. 

Nursing homes are particularly vulnerable to the virus, given that older people and those with underlying health conditions are most at risk.

The Life Care Center in Washington state has seen a string of deaths from an outbreak of the virus there: 26 fatalities out of 120 patients.

Experts say about 80 percent of people who get the virus do not need hospitalization, but the risk is much higher for older patients.