State actions were too little, too late to spare senior care residents
Beth Cayce boiled over with frustration last week as she battled to protect seniors in long-term care from the invisible enemy.
Two residents of an assisted living facility she manages in Cobb County tested positive for COVID-19 with unexpected symptoms of weakness and loss of appetite. But health officials could not test many others in her facility with similar symptoms, Cayce said, because they did not meet the states testing requirements. Meanwhile, Cayce and her staff were spending hours online every day desperately trying to find more masks and gowns, knowing the state would not send what they needed to keep staff and residents safe.
Worried about what the coming days could bring, Cayce paused to urge Gov. Brian Kemp to immediately do more to help those on the front lines.
I am writing to request that you hear my story, she told Kemp in a letter, for we as health care workers are fighting a war against COVID 19 without the necessary resources and protection.Kemp on April 8 ordered senior care homes to take aggressive steps to curb the virus, and he sent 1,000 additional Georgia National Guard members to sanitize facilities. But by then the outbreak had killed at least 81 residents of nursing homes and assisted living communities. On Monday, Kemp said testing would become more widely available, but the virus has crept into so many facilities that state action may be too little, too late for thousands of Georgia seniors.
https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional/state-actions-were-too-little-too-late-spare-senior-care-residents/907LrITmzYNjrhIePU0ZvO/