Coronavirus Has ‘High Attack Rate’ Among Nursing Home Residents
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions are at the highest risk of severe coronavirus infection.
Our nation’s nursing homes are some of the most concentrated areas of these extremely vulnerable citizens. Now, more than ever before considering the crisis at hand, nursing homes need to rise to the standards of care they promise to residents and their families.
As the vigorous spread of the COVID-19 virus continues and virus-related illnesses and deaths increase daily, the level of precautions needed to keep nursing home residents safe must continuously be adapted and improved upon. Nursing homes that neglect to take extra measures to safeguard their residents as outlined by the CDC may cause tragic consequences for residents.
If you believe your loved one was harmed in a nursing home, contact us today for a free, no-obligation legal consultation.
Kirkland Nursing Home Residents Were In ‘Immediate Jeopardy’
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency in charge of nursing home oversight, and the CDC investigated the Life Care Center as the tragedy in Kirkland, Washington began to unfold. Regulators wanted to figure out what went wrong and how other facilities should move forward in preventing a similar outcome in other facilities.
According to the CMS findings released on March 23, 2020, “The inspectors found three ‘Immediate Jeopardy’ situations, which are situations in which a patient’s safety is placed in imminent danger.”
The specific problems cited in the report were:
- Failure to rapidly identify and manage ill residents.
- Failure to notify the Washington Department of Health about the increasing rate of respiratory infection among residents.
- Failure to possess a sufficient backup plan following the absence of the facility’s primary clinician, who fell ill.
Unfortunately, this horrific instance had to occur for us to focus on how we monitor our elderly in a time of crisis. With that being said, countless numbers of nursing home workers are trying their best during these unprecedented times. With the knowledge that we have now, we hope that improvements will be made and that these mistakes do not happen again. In the meantime, know that Sokolove Law is here for you, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.