Covid Continues to Kill Nursing Home Residents, yet the Majority Go without the Latest Shot

After Covid-19 ravaged American nursing homes in the height of the pandemic, getting vaccinations for the vulnerable elderly was a top priority. Now nursing home residents essentially have been left on their own.

Despite the high death toll in nursing homes from Covid-19, fewer than 4 in 10 residents have gotten the most recent Covid shot, says a POLITICO article.  Covid continues to kill nursing home residents, more than 170,000 nursing home residents have died- including nearly 600 residents during the first two weeks of 2024—and the low rate of new shots among residents has left nursing homes and the Biden administration pointing fingers at one another.

Due to factors such as age and underlying conditions, nursing home residents are especially vulnerable to Covid-19. Despite the consensus among experts that elderly people need an annual Covid shot, recent vaccinations among nursing home residents has dropped to 38 percent. Considering the federal rules requiring homes to offer vaccines, the question is whether or not the low vaccination numbers come as a result of negligence amounting to nursing home malpractice.

With the termination of the public health emergency last fall, the government shifted the responsibility for buying and managing the distribution of Covid shots to nursing homes. According to POLITICO, since late December of last year, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra has met twice with nursing home representatives to emphasize facilities’ responsibility to offer the latest shot to residents. Finding that some nursing homes show greater vaccine success than others—both North and South Dakota report over 60 percent nursing home resident vaccination, compared with just 20.1 percent of Arizona nursing home residents—the administration insists it’s possible for all nursing homes to do a better job.

Considering the vulnerability of residents and the deadliness and contagiousness of Covid-19, it is the responsibility of nursing homes to take every measure to safeguard their residents; neglecting to do so is nursing home malpractice. When nursing homes do not do their part in preventing nursing home infections and residents become seriously ill or die, nursing home malpractice has occurred and loved ones must look into a nursing home lawyer or wrongful death attorney.

In response to the administration’s insistence that facilities work harder to improve vaccine rates, nursing homes have countered that the government needs to act to address vaccine hesitancy. While Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Mandy Cohen said it was a top priority for the agency to address issues of vaccine access and hesitancy, POLITICO said others in the administration feel that vaccine promotion should come from manufacturers and nursing homes.

Your Advocate against Nursing Home Abuse, Neglect, and Wrongful Death

Attorney Brian P. Murphy is dedicated to protecting the safety and preserving the rights of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home residents. Your loved one living in a nursing home should not fear that their home’s negligence will result in illness or wrongful death. Attorney Brian Murphy has years of experience fighting negligent nursing homes in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and New Jersey. As a seasoned nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, he holds accountable the Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing homes responsible for elder abuse, neglect, and other types of nursing home malpractice. Should you find yourself needing to contact a nursing home malpractice and wrongful death attorney, or if you need guidance in choosing a nursing home, call Brian Murphy today to discuss your legal options.

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Phase 3 CMS Guidance to Target Nursing Home Infection Control, Abuse Allegations, and Inappropriate Antipsychotic Use:

The forthcoming CMS guidance will also address nursing home arbitration agreements, involuntary discharges, and the implementation of quality and performance improvement plans.

The long-awaited Phase 3 of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new Requirements of Participation (ROP) is imminent, McKnights reports, and nursing home operators can expect dictates on a range of provisions. On hold since 2019, the latest guidance should be expected to arrive “very, very soon,” according to CMS nursing home division director Evan Shulman, and will address matters related to nursing home infection control, nursing home quality and performance management, reporting nursing home abuse, and more.

Phase 1 of the Requirements of Participation, which establish prerequisites for receiving federal reimbursements, was implemented in 2016, with Phase 2 rolling out in 2016. Phase 3 has been on hold since 2019, pending CMS’s final release of updated guidance. According to McKnights, the new Phase 3 CMS guidance for nursing home operators will dictate actions concerning the following:

• Nursing Home Infection Control—Aiming to control the occurrence and spread of nursing home infections, Phase 3 will require facilities to implement an infection control program. Nursing homes are expected to already have an infection preventionist in place within their facility. The new guidance will equip the nursing home infection preventionist with the tools to put the infection control program into action.
• Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI)—Intended to boost safety and quality of within nursing homes, QAPI plans were expected to have been developed by providers under Phase 2. Phase 3 will call for the implementation of QAPI programs that seek to decrease the occurrence of problems that amount to nursing home abuse and neglect.
• Reporting Nursing Home Abuse—Having received a number of requests from the public for ways to identify and report nursing home abuse, CMS will respond in its Phase 3 guidance with specific direction regarding how people should report, and how states should investigate, nursing home abuse.
• Inappropriate Use of Antipsychotics in Dementia Care—Shulman indicated an uptick during the pandemic of inappropriate schizophrenia diagnoses in nursing home residents with dementia, and the subsequent prescription of antipsychotics. In its Phase 3 guidance CMS looks to combat the proclivity of nursing homes to prescribe dangerous antipsychotics in order to make dementia patients easier to control.
• Nursing Home Arbitration Agreements—Phase 3 will address the controversial issue of arbitration agreements, which make resolving nursing home abuse and neglect complaints easier and less costly for nursing homes while limiting the kinds of damages victims can receive. According to Shulman, under Phase 3 nursing homes will not be permitted to offer arbitration agreements as a condition of admission or as a condition to receive care.
• Involuntary Nursing Home Discharges—Shulman named involuntary nursing home discharges as the top complaint made by state ombudsmen. Both federal and state laws exist to protect elderly residents from involuntary nursing home discharges. In its Phase 3 guidance CMS will outline requirements related to discharges that nursing homes must follow in order to remain compliant.

Holding Nursing Homes Accountable

The Philadelphia/PA or NJ nursing home where your loved one lives is legally required to offer the utmost in quality and safety for its residents. This means that Pennsylvania and New Jersey nursing homes must adhere to health and safety standards and ensure the physical, mental, and psycho/social well-being of their residents. Should you have concerns about the quality of care in a Pennsylvania or New Jersey nursing home, or if you suspect neglect, abuse, or fraud has occurred at the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, or New Jersey nursing home where your loved one lives, please contact nursing home abuse attorney Brian P. Murphy to discover your legal rights and options.

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