Government drafting rules for reopening hard hit nursing homes

Federal health regulators are drafting recommendations for reopening nursing homes amid the coronavirus, including a series of steps that would make it possible for visitors to enter facilities that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

The multiphase plan is similar to ones that governors have been deploying in their states. However, medical industry professionals are concerned about making any rash decisions when it comes to elder care facilities, as any false step could drastically increase the risk of contagion for the population of a given home.

“It has been really challenging to control the transmission through the facilities, so I don’t think they should be opening up yet,” said Morgan Katz, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University.

Nursing home industry groups are cautioning that facilities desperately need more resources and support before they can consider reopening.

Industry officials have cited the need for more masks and other personal protection equipment for residents, staff and visitors, in addition to the ability to do more frequent testing. However, the officials also estimate that widespread testing won’t become available for another four to six months.

Such conditions pose problems for many families who have been cut off from their relatives for more than two months. Elderly residents are unhappy in isolation, and families are exerting pressure on senior homes to allow them access to their loved ones.

The plan to reopen nursing homes, which was leaked from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, suggests reopening in three phases – similarly to the Trump administration’s “Opening Up America Again” guidelines.

Facilities will be allowed to move from phase one to phase two if they have no new coronavirus cases for 14 days. The rules would be slightly different depending on what percentage of the nursing home was infected at the height of the pandemic.