Washington Post: Hundreds of nursing homes ran short on staff, protective gear as more than 30,000 residents died during pandemic

Washington Post: Hundreds of nursing homes ran short on staff, protective gear as more than 30,000 residents died during pandemic

June 4, 2020
by Peter Whoriskey, Debbie Cenziper, Will Englund, & Joel Jacobs
Hundreds of nursing homes ran short on staff, protective gear as more than 30,000 residents died during pandemic

The CMS should have held nursing homes accountable for lapses in infection control and prevention long before the pandemic, said Arlene Germain, policy director of Massachusetts Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.

Even as the coronavirus spread in March and April, nearly 600 nursing homes were cited by government inspectors for violating federal standards meant to prevent and control the spread of infections.

She said the deaths of more than 600[typo in article] nursing home residents and staff members could have been mitigated if homes were better prepared and had access to supplies and testing.

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said of the death count. “It shouldn’t have happened.”