(NewsNation) —A new government oversight report has found that about one in four private nursing homes may not have complied with federal requirements for infection prevention leaving thousands of staff and residents vulnerable to outbreaks.
The report released last month by the Office of Inspector General under the Department of Health and Human Services found that “2,568 for-profit nursing homes nationwide (approximately one in four) may not have complied with federal requirements pertaining to infection preventionists during our audit period.”
Nursing homes must operate in compliance with federal and state laws, which include a regulation that facilities establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program by appointing an infection preventionist (IP) who ensures “a safe, sanitary, and comfortable environment,” the report stated.
The office conducted its audit from June 2021, through June 2022, and examined 100 of the more than 10,000 for-profit nursing homes to determine federal regulations compliance with preventionists.
The office found that 17 facilities potentially did not comply with the requirement that the preventionist “complete specialized infection prevention and control training prior to assuming the role” and that 7 “potentially did not comply with the requirement to designate an IP.”
Using the sample results, the office determined that a large swath of nursing homes were also likely not in compliance which puts into danger the “health and safety risks for the residents and staff of these nursing homes,” the report stated.
“Management and staff at a nursing home are ultimately responsible for ensuring the safety and well-being of residents and staff and for complying with Federal, State, and local regulations.”
The report also outlines steps in order for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to get facilities up to speed with regulations.
They advised the agency to follow up with specific nursing homes that may not be compliant with federal requirements and ensure that they take corrective actions. They also instruct state survey agencies to focus on whether nursing homes have designated an IP who has specialized training before taking the job.
In a letter commenting on the report, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare stated that it “takes seriously its role in improving the safety and quality of care in our nation’s nursing homes” and that they will continue to implement the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to ensure pandemic and emergency preparedness in nursing homes” referring to Covid-19.
Nursing homes were especially impacted by the pandemic with staffing shortages, loosened safety protocols, and challenges to prevent infections leading to high rates of infection within the facilities.
More than 1,300 nursing homes had infection rates of 75 percent or higher during surge periods, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to testify publicly before the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic for the first time regarding his pandemic response next week particularly in his handling of long-term care facilities and nursing homes.
The hearing is set to focus on the guidance Cuomo issued in the early days of the pandemic that led to New York nursing homes and long-term care facilities admitting patients who had tested positive for COVID-19.
Cuomo’s guidance said nursing homes could not turn away patients who tested positive for COVID-19 as long as they were medically stable and prohibited requiring those hospitalized to be tested for COVID-19 before admission or readmission to nursing homes.
“Andrew Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York’s nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 10, Americans will have the opportunity to hear directly from the former governor about New York’s potentially fatal nursing home policies,” panel chair Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, said in a statement.
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi took aim at what he called a “farce of a committee” in a statement, pointing to a study in the National Institutes of Health library based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data that found New York “had a lower nursing home death rate pro rata than all but 11 states.”
Azzopardi said the state maintained preexisting safeguards that said nursing homes should only accept patients they can care for.
