Lost on the Frontline

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic rose above 146,000. The U.S. reported more than 68,000 new cases yesterday. We account for more than a quarter of the more than 15.5 million coronavirus cases world-wide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. South Carolina has plateaued bringing the total number of confirmed cases to almost 80,000 cases with over 1300 deaths. Many in nursing homes.  The frontline caregivers at nursing homes are at high risk.

America’s health care workers are dying. This is especially true for direct caregivers at nursing homes.  Health care workers and support staff account for 20% of confirmed coronavirus cases. These workers provide custodial care such as serving them food, providing assistance, and cleaning their rooms.  They are the necessary backbone in most nursing homes.  They perform 95% of the direct care to residents.

“Lost on the Frontline” is a collaboration between Kaiser Health News and The Guardian.  They discovered almost a thousand workers who died of COVID-19 after helping patients during the pandemic. Kaiser Health News published profiles for 156 workers whose deaths have been confirmed by reporters. These caregivers need more training and support to fight the Trump Virus.

We cannot allow residents and their frontline caregivers get lost on the frontline for the profit of the Corporation. We need to provide a living wage and increase staffing to safe levels.