Citing the outbreak at Brighton Rehab, two U.S. Representatives are lobbying the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to immediately increase inspections at nursing homes.
At least four out of every five deaths related to COVID-19 announced in Pennsylvania each day now occur in a nursing home or long-term care facility.
A Times analysis of state data found that since April 27, at least 80 percent of new deaths announced each day connected to the novel coronavirus are in nursing homes. Some days, that number is closer to 90 percent, meaning that the vast majority of those who are dying after contracting the virus are among the state’s most vulnerable population.
“We want to protect the entire population from COVID-19 and it's serious side effects,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. “We have been working very hard throughout this entire process on protecting those homes as much as possible. That's a significant challenge, and we're continuing to do the very best we can to protect the residents in the staff and those facilities.”
That includes Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Brighton Township, where 66 residents who contracted the virus have died. In total, state data indicates that 303 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 — about two-thirds of the facility’s population in March. Brighton Rehab, the former county-owned Friendship Ridge nursing home, has one of the worst outbreaks of the virus in the state. COVID-associated deaths at Brighton Rehab represent 90 percent of deaths in Beaver County residents who tested positive for the virus.
Levine acknowledged Monday that her department has been working with facilities across the state. It’s not possible to close those facilities down, she said, as there are 695 nursing homes in Pennsylvania and thousands of personal care homes. As of Tuesday, 495 of those facilities reported at least one case of COVID-19 in residents or employees.
“The majority of deaths have been in seniors, and particularly seniors with other co-morbid medical conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, etc. of course, that is, is a great example of the the type of individuals that are in nursing homes on seniors,” she said. “Many if not most have co-morbid conditions.”
Those numbers have caused alarm with elected officials.
Citing the situation at Brighton Rehab, U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-17, Mount Lebanon, and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-18, Forest Hills, asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to immediately increase inspections at nursing homes and other long-term facilities in a letter to agency leaders on Tuesday.
“The coronavirus is having a devastating impact on our senior community and their families,” said Lamb in a statement in which he added that, “Nowhere has that impact been felt more painfully” than at Brighton Rehab.
Lamb, who called for a federal investigation of Brighton Rehab during a telephone town hall last week, said CMS’s inspection cycle ranging from nine to 15 months “is inadequate to meet the challenges presented by COVID-19. We need to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect our seniors, including increasing the frequency and intensity of inspections.”
Doyle, whose district includes Pittsburgh, said Brighton Rehab “provides a terrible example in our region of the need to do better at protecting the health of residents in such facilities.”
Both lawmakers have joined colleagues in asking CMS and the HHS to collect and publicly release data on long-term care facilities, as well as requesting that money under the latest congressional COVID-19 relief package be allocated to states to help them with tests for the virus at long-term care sites.
Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday that nursing homes “continue to be a hotspot and a particular challenge for us. Wolf said the state has made 1,400 shipments of personal protective equipment to facilities in the state.
“We are doing everything we can,” Wolf said.
Those sentiments were echoed by Levine, who took several questions at her Tuesday briefing about nursing homes in the state.
“This has been a very challenging situation,” she said.
Levine again said her department is supporting nursing homes battling outbreaks with daily guidance, PPE and, where needed, temporary assistance and management.
“We are working with those nursing homes,” she said.
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