Barbara Anthony

In The Era Of COVID-19, Mass. Needs To Get Long-Term Care Right

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , /by Barbara Anthony and Mary Connaughton
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

This op-ed originally appeared in WGBH News.

In much of the country, a substantial number of Covid-19 deaths have occurred in nursing homes. Too many states were caught unaware that crowding, poor infection control, insufficient isolation facilities, and lack of proper training and equipment for nursing home workers would create petri dishes for Covid’s destruction. As of now, this lack of preparation accounts for 24,000, or over one-third, of Covid-related deaths nationally.

We saw what was happening in Italy, where frontline doctors were forced to make age-based life and death decisions because so many elderly people were sick and ventilators were in short supply. We saw the first signs of the virus on our own shores in Washington state nursing homes.

So what happened in Massachusetts?

As of this writing, about 60 percent of Massachusetts’ 5,000-plus Covid-related deaths are nursing home residents. Some of those residents were receiving temporary rehabilitative services, others were in long-term care.

Apart from overall number of deaths, we know little about the faces behind the numbers. The Commonwealth has provided minimal information; for example, although the Department of Public Health (DPH) discloses overall nursing home deaths, it does not disclose numbers of deaths by facility on its public website. The federal government has now required such information be disclosed to residents’ families. DPH says it will take weeks to comply.

What we know about specific nursing homes, we have learned from local media investigations.

There is still limited transparency about state plans to protect nursing home residents. We need answers to the following questions:

1. During the early stages of the pandemic and currently, who in state government was/is in charge of the health and safety of long-term care facility residents and what lessons have been learned thus far?

2. What plans guided the efforts of the DPH, the state Office of Elder Affairs and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services as they sought to limit contagion in Massachusetts nursing homes?

3. Going forward, is the state prepared for a potential second wave of Covid in nursing homes?

These questions are crucial because nursing home deaths should not be inevitable. Mistakenly, some believe that nursing home residents are primary targets of Covid simply because they are old or gravely ill. That is not at all the case.

Seniors don’t contract Covid because of their age. They are infected through exposures to individuals who have the virus. The effect of infection for those with serious pre-existing health issues is more significant, and can lead to death, but that’s also true of 30- or 40-year-olds with similar pre-existing conditions.

Clearly, the elderly are more likely to have compromised immune systems and many seniors have underlying conditions that make the virus more destructive or even deadly. When Covid is introduced into an environment with little social distancing, ineffective infection control, lack of proper isolation units, and inadequately trained healthcare workers who lack essential protective equipment, spread is inevitable.

As we approach the fall, with its sobering predictions from experts, we are presented with an opportunity to learn from our prior faults and protect those who are the most vulnerable. The virus is as deadly today as it was in March or April. Preparing for what comes next starts with the Commonwealth answering these three critical questions.

Barbara Anthony is senior fellow in healthcare and Mary Z. Connaughton is director of government transparency at Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based think tank.

Get Our COVID-19 News, Tips & Resources!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Pandemic Pension Payout: Essential COVID-19 Public Workers Rewarded Whether Essential or Working

Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Director of Research and former Massachusetts Inspector General and State Representative Greg Sullivan about HB 2808, COVID-19 Essential Employee Retirement Credit Bonus, discussing the merits of the recently proposed joint bill, its cost, and our current public debt burden in the Commonwealth.

MBTA Ridership Trends Compared to Public Transportation Agencies Nationwide

0 Comments
/
The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating effect on our economy,…

Public Statement on Implementation of the Charitable Giving Deduction

Despite being awash in cash, the state Legislature just overrode Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a provision to delay by yet another year a tax deduction for charitable donations. Rep. Mark Cusack, House chair of the Joint Committee on Revenue, said “it doesn’t mean no, just not now.” If not now, when?

The Globe’s Ornaments – Celebrating the Great Cities of the Ages – 35 Resources for Parents & Students

Celebrating the Great Cities of the Ages - This is part of Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, teachers, and students during COVID-19.

Jeeves & Wooster’s World The Comic Genius of P.G. Wodehouse – 30 Resources for Parents & Students

Life and writing can and should be playful, witty, light, fun, and make us smile. This is particularly important during the hard realities and sometimes loneliness of COVID, lockdowns, masks, and the increasingly stilted use of language today. To provide some much-needed comic relief and to help people of all age groups glory in the English language, take ourselves less seriously, and laugh more – please enjoy the world of P.G. Wodehouse!

Public Statement on the MA Legislature’s Blanket Pension Giveaway

Beacon Hill just put on full display what happens when it is awash in money. House Bill 2808 is entitled, “An Act relative to providing a COVID-19 retirement credit to essential public workers.”  It calls for adding three years of additional retirement credit to state “employees who have volunteered to work or have been required to work at their respective worksites or any other worksite outside of their personal residences during the COVID-19 state of emergency…” But upon reading the brief bill, it quickly becomes clear that this legislation is irresponsible in the extreme.

Employment trends in the Greater Boston Area and Touristy Massachusetts Counties during the COVID-19 Pandemic

0 Comments
/
Using MassEconomix, Pioneer Institute’s database on employment…

The COVID-19 Impact on Massachusetts Community College Enrollment & Success Trends

Enrollment at Massachusetts community colleges has dropped 32.61…