{"id":5490,"date":"2020-05-10T23:55:49","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T04:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/?p=5490"},"modified":"2020-05-10T23:55:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T04:55:49","slug":"nursing-homes-in-some-states-told-to-take-patients-infected-with-coronavirus-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/nursing-homes-in-some-states-told-to-take-patients-infected-with-coronavirus-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Nursing Homes in Some States Told to Take Patients Infected With Coronavirus &#8211; The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/merlin_171646896_3918acdd-88bd-4a08-b47e-a454171ff78b-articleLarge.jpg\" alt=\"Medical workers in protective great outside a residence in Andover, N.J.\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"css-16f3y1r e13ogyst0\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Medical workers in protective great outside a residence in Andover, N.J.<\/span><span class=\"css-cnj6d5 e1z0qqy90\"><span class=\"css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0\">Credit&#8230;<\/span>Eduardo Munoz Alvarez\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Source: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/24\/us\/nursing-homes-coronavirus.html\">Nursing Homes in Some States Told to Take Patients Infected With Coronavirus &#8211; The New York Times<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Neal Nibur has lived in a\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/07\/business\/coronavirus-nursing-homes.html\">nursing home<\/a>\u00a0for about a year, ever since he had a bad bout of pneumonia. Now, the 80-year-old man has not only his own health to worry about but that of his neighbors at the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., residence. Four new patients recently arrived from the hospital with\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/07\/business\/coronavirus-nursing-homes.html\">Covid-19<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">They were admitted for one reason, according to staff members: A state guideline says\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/07\/business\/coronavirus-nursing-homes.html\">nursing homes<\/a>\u00a0cannot refuse to take patients from hospitals solely because they have the\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/05\/07\/business\/coronavirus-nursing-homes.html\">coronavirus<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cI don\u2019t like them playing Russian roulette with my life,\u201d said Mr. Nibur, who is on oxygen. \u201cIt\u2019s putting us at risk. I am 80 years old with underlying problems. Everybody here has an underlying problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">The disease caused by the virus has killed more than 10,500 residents and staff members at nursing homes and long-term care facilities nationwide, according to a\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2020\/us\/coronavirus-us-cases.html\">New York Times analysis<\/a>. That is nearly a quarter of deaths in the United States from the pandemic. On Saturday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York described nursing homes as a \u201c<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/18\/nyregion\/coronavirus-new-york-update.html\">feeding frenzy for this virus.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">But states are increasingly turning to nursing homes to relieve the burden on hospitals and take in Covid-19 patients considered stable enough to be released. Although there is no evidence so far that the practice has allowed infections to spread in nursing homes, many residents and advocates fear that it is only a matter of time. One lawsuit in New Jersey alleges that a worker was likely to have been sickened by a Covid-19 patient readmitted from a hospital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">At the epicenter of the outbreak, New York issued a\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.health.ny.gov\/system\/files\/documents\/2020\/03\/doh_covid19-_nhadmissionsreadmissions_-032520.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">strict new rule<\/a>\u00a0last month: Nursing homes must readmit residents sent to hospitals with the coronavirus and accept new patients as long as they are deemed \u201cmedically stable.\u201d\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2020-04-01\/california-orders-skilled-nursing-facilities-to-accept-coronavirus-patients\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.northjersey.com\/story\/news\/coronavirus\/2020\/04\/06\/coronavirus-nj-nursing-homes-must-take-virus-patients-back\/2942149001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Jersey<\/a> have also said that nursing homes should take in such patients. Homes are allowed to turn patients away if they claim they can\u2019t care for them safely \u2014 but administrators say they worry that refusing patients could provoke regulatory scrutiny, and advocates say it could result in a loss of revenue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">In contrast to these states,\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/ctmirror.org\/2020\/04\/09\/state-taps-four-nursing-facilities-to-house-residents-with-coronavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connecticut<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wbur.org\/commonhealth\/2020\/03\/29\/worcester-nursing-home-moving-patients-coronavirus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Massachusetts<\/a>\u00a0designated certain facilities for Covid-19 patients alone \u2014 considered the safest way to free up hospital beds. The Washington Health Care Association, which represents long-term care facilities in Washington State, has asked officials to adopt a similar policy; so far, they have not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s got to happen,\u201d said Robin Dale, the association\u2019s president. \u201cThen we would not have this hodgepodge of every nursing home in the state having one or two positives and crossing your fingers that it works out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">Beth Martino, spokeswoman for the American Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, said her association had heard that a number of states were considering measures similar to those in California, New Jersey and New York. But many others haven\u2019t offered any guidance on the matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1fanzo5 StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-exrw3m evys1bk0\">The fears that moving coronavirus patients to nursing homes might spark outbreaks is compounded by the lack of protective equipment at many facilities, as well as shortages in staffing, requiring workers to interact with more patients. And not all hospitals are testing to check whether stable patients are still infectious before releasing them.<\/p>\n<p>Continue reading: https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/04\/24\/us\/nursing-homes-coronavirus.html<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Medical workers in protective great outside a residence in Andover, N.J.Credit&#8230;Eduardo Munoz Alvarez\/Getty Images Source: Nursing Homes in Some States Told to Take Patients Infected With Coronavirus &#8211; The New York Times Neal Nibur has lived in a\u00a0nursing home\u00a0for about a year, ever since he had a bad bout of pneumonia. Now, the 80-year-old man &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/nursing-homes-in-some-states-told-to-take-patients-infected-with-coronavirus-the-new-york-times\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Nursing Homes in Some States Told to Take Patients Infected With Coronavirus &#8211; The New York Times<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[54],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5490"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5492,"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5490\/revisions\/5492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esterlund.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}