Residents v. Staff Choice
Protect the Residents
New evidence shows that nursing home staff vaccination rates are the biggest safety factor on the resident population. In fact, nursing homes with the lowest staff vaccination rates had more than two times the resident COVID-19 cases compared with homes with the highest staff vaccination rates. The same facility had three times the resident COVID-19 deaths. Shocking.
David Grabowski told Skilled Nursing News:
“We estimate that if all facilities had staff vaccination rates in the highest category during this period, 4,775 resident COVID-19 cases and 703 resident deaths could have been prevented. In other words, our study strongly suggests that staff vaccination protects nursing home residents.”
The New England Journal of Medicine confirms that being in a skilled nursing facility with unvaccinated caregivers is dangerous for the health, safety, and well being of the vulnerable residents. Staff vaccination compliance is the key to protect resident health and safety.
Elder advocates and health experts encourage vaccination mandates for healthcare providers. The vaccine will protect residents.
Occupancy Rates
New data from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care found that SNF occupancy decreased 27 basis points from 75.2% in August to 75.1% in September following several months of modest growth. It was still, however, 355 basis points higher from the low of 71.5% reached in January 2021.
Data on COVID-19 booster administration to nursing home residents and staff will be available on data.cms.gov. McGarry is an assistant professor in the division of geriatrics and aging in the Department of Medicine at the University of Rochester. He said:
“Even though the residents are protected with their vaccination, they’re still relying on an additional layer of protection from the staff.”
By far, people over age 65 have accounted for the greatest percentage of Covid-19 deaths in the U.S.