Nursing home deaths soar past 3,600 in alarming surge

[RandySF]

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 3,600 deaths nationwide have been linked to coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, an alarming rise in just the past two weeks, according to the latest count by The Associated Press.

Because the federal government has not been releasing a count of its own, the AP has kept its own running tally based on media reports and state health departments. The latest count of at least 3,621 deaths is up from about 450 deaths just 10 days ago.

But the true toll among the 1 million mostly frail and elderly people who live in such facilities is likely much higher, experts say, because most state counts don’t include those who died without ever being tested for COVID-19.

Outbreaks in just the past few weeks have included one at a nursing home in suburban Richmond, Virginia, that has killed 42 and infected more than 100, another at nursing home in central Indiana that has killed 24 and infected 16, and one at a veteran’s home in Holyoke, Mass., that has killed 38, infected 88 and prompted a federal investigation. This comes weeks after an outbreak at a nursing home in the Seattle suburb of Kirkland that has so far claimed 43 lives.




https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Nursing-homes-deaths-soar-past-2-600-in-alarming-15195482.php?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[pat_k]

1. 0.75% of pop in nursing homes/long term care; 16% of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes/ltc

According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, slightly over 5 percent of the 65+ population occupy nursing homes, congregate care, assisted living, and board-and-care homes.

15% of the population is in the 65+ category.

So, that's 5% of 15% = 0.75%

0.75% of the population in nursing homes, board and care, etc.

16% of COVID-19 deaths link to nursing homes and LTC facilities (3,600/22,115)

This is horrific.

[LisaL]

5. Healthy people don't usually end up in nursing homes.

The ones in nursing homes are the sickest of the seniors with bunch of pre-existing conditions. It wouldn't be surprising if their death rate was higher.

[BigmanPigman]

2. Good article that may change the numbers....

"Meanwhile the CDC is instructing medical staff to report deaths as COVID-19 deaths even when no test has confirmed the presence of the disease. In a Q and A on death certificates published by the CDC on March 24, the agency advises:
COVID-19 should be reported on the death certificate for all decedents where the disease caused or is assumed to have caused or contributed to death. Certifiers should include as much detail as possible based on their knowledge of the case, medical records, laboratory testing, etc. If the decedent had other chronic conditions such as COPD or asthma that may have also contributed, these conditions can be reported in Part 2"
https://mises.org/wire/march-us-deaths-covid-19-totaled-less-2-percent-all-deaths

[OhioChick]

3. That's what we're keeping an eye on here....

If a few nursing homes start having huge outbreaks, (not only would it be a nightmare) but it would easily overwhelm our hospital systems.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. The other issue of long-term care facility workers

I legally represented such a worker last year pro bono (for free). A resident made an amazing array of abuse accusations against her, 15 in fact. I dedicated almost a year with the Commissioner of the state's Board of Health finding not a single incident of abuse. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that because my client lifted this resident by herself (no injury), she committed negligence and was suspended for a year.

Fast forward to today: my client is still not working but that's a good thing. Although she needed the money (she worked eight-hour shifts at two nursing homes), she also is over 65 and suffers from diabetes. I'm certain that she would likely have contracted CV-19 if she still had been working. She might also have succumbed. So I'm not unhappy that she isn't working for this reason.