Coronavirus-wracked nursing home evacuated after most of staff failed to show for two days

[left-of-center2012]

Source: Washington Post

A California nursing home where dozens have tested positive for the novel coronavirus was forced to evacuate Wednesday after a majority of its staff failed to show up to work for the second consecutive day, according to public health officials. People decked out in masks, gloves and protective gowns could be seen wheeling residents of the Magnolia Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Riverside, Calif., one by one on stretchers to ambulances that would take them to other care facilities in the area.

At the time of the evacuation, the center was looking after more than 80 patients, 34 of whom have tested positive for the coronavirus, Riverside County Public Health Officer Cameron Kaiser said at a news conference. Five employees have also contracted the virus, Kaiser said.

Riverside County officials say they do not yet know why many of Magnolia’s staff members stopped reporting for duty. As of Wednesday, Kaiser said his office had not received any complaints from the staff about working conditions at the 90-bed center, which bills itself as “one of the finest skilled nursing facilities in Riverside, California.” But no matter how justified the reasoning may be, Kaiser said he is concerned that the employees’ actions “could rise to the level of abandonment.”

On Tuesday, only one certified nursing assistant out of the 13 scheduled to work showed up, which prompted facilities nearby to send more than 30 of their own nurses to the center, according to a news release from the county. The staffing problem persisted into Wednesday morning, Kaiser said at the news conference, leaving him with no choice but to order the evacuation “to safeguard the well-being of the residents and ensure appropriate continuity of care.” According to the most recent figures, Riverside County has 1,179 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 32 reported deaths.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/04/09/california-nursing-home-coronavirus/

[machoneman]

1. I'll venture the staff that didn't sho have a whole different story to tell the media.

Maybe the lack of protective gear (i.e. bring your own) management perhaps cut wages and overtime pay, a lackadasical attitude toward COVID-19, affected patients and likely failure to report, on purpose, the actual facts about patient infection rates.

Perhaps I'm wrong but I doubt it.

[flying_wahini]

2. I'm sure you are right.

The administration knows Why they didn’t show, just aren’t going to confirm it out loud.

One nurse a shift and 3 or 4 nurses aides to handle all the patients needs, I bet.

[Jirel]

4. I agree.

I don’t think they all just bailed mysteriously. There are probably communications that will surface about unsafe working conditions, pressure to treat inadequately, etc.

[BusyBeingBest]

7. I'm sure they will report various difficulties--

but you don't abandon your patients, unless you are ill yourself. Shame on these people, and on their nurse managers. This is license-losing territory.

[Sgent]

8. The Oregon

Board of Nursing sent out a letter a month ago reminding licensees that they could be sanctioned / lose their license if they no showed for a shift even if there were PPE concerns. I don't know how it will come out but professional boards don't treat patient abandonment lightly.

[Zoonart]

3. This is what happened in Spain.

From NPR:Spanish Military Finds Dead Bodies And Seniors 'Completely Abandoned' In Care Homes

https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/24/820711855/spanish-military-finds-dead-bodies-and-seniors-completely-abandoned-in-care-home

[gab13by13]

5. I fear this is going to happen a lot,

there are a lot of small businesses that will go bankrupt. Someone in the Trump administration just now figured that out and now they are asking for more money. They must have given away most of the money to small businesses who employ 499 people.

[Miguelito Loveless]

6. And have 10,000 contractors