Reply to 22% of MD’s cases and 50% of the deaths are in nursing homes

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]If the major cause of spread and fatalities have been identified, what makes more sense? Shut society down and send out unemployment checks to millions? Or use a fraction of those funds to provide long term care facilities with proper PPE and rapid tests to quickly identify and contain new outbreaks?

I'm not trying to sacrifice Grandma, I'm saying maybe we should focus on the door to Grandma's house and not Grandma's entire state to protect her. [/quote]

Yes, I've been saying this over and over!  (And I help care for two elderly parents.)  Social distancing does next to nothing to actually help the elderly.

In fact I'd sharpen it to:

I'm saying maybe we should focus on [b]directing resources to[/b] the door to Grandma's house and [b]not diverting resources to[/b] Grandma's entire state to protect her.

If even a fraction of the $$$ spent on stimulus checks and unemployment had been used for training, PPE, testing and hazard pay for nursing/ elderly care workers, (plus delivery services reserved for the medically vulnerable) [b]that [/b]would have actually reduced deaths.[/quote]

Yes, we are not directing  resources where they are most needed by continuing to pretend everyone is equally at risk.  [/quote]

Agreed.  We are literally spending trillions of dollars right now as a country, it seems like some directed investment/measures towards nursing homes/assisted living facilities could go a much longer way to actually protect the residents and workers there than blanket shutdowns, like:

1) Require workers to only work at one facility right now and provide adequate pay to compensate.
2) Provide sick leave and continually test workers
3) Provide adequate PPE

It doesn't take much for this disease to spread through a facility once there- you need to assume that some staff members WILL get it and have measures in place to mitigate spread.[/quote]

I completely agree with you. And I do see the more sensible political leaders realizing this (like Hogan, who's moving toward opening Maryland gently while focusing resources on nursing homes). And Florida's DeSanti has done this from the get go, focusing state resources and testing on nursing homes.

Just like we changed the entire airport security set up following 9-11 we may need to develop policies for how nursing homes are staffed and run, for at least a few years till the virus is either defeated by vaccination or herd immunity is achieved. I can see the nursing homes becoming something similar to the oilfield camps with resident staff living on the premise in shifts. Four weeks on, two weeks off, extensive testing before allowed to return to work, and so forth. On a rotation basis. It won't be easy but it's something that can be done and will be far more effective than shutting down in some slim hope the virus dies off on its own while we completely destroy the economy in the process.

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