Connecticut residents who learned how to communicate with family and friends through digital technology when their nursing homes closed to visitors last year used that skill to testify remotely during legislative hearings on bills affecting them.
The number of Americans 65 and older is expected to nearly double in the next 40 years. Finding a way to provide and pay for the long-term health services they need won’t be easy.
Nursing home chain ReNew Health continues to care for hundreds of patients even after the state attempted to crack down. Before and during the pandemic, homes connected to ReNew had safety violations.
Responsible for 34% of the nation’s covid death toll, nursing homes and long-term care facilities get slammed by their investors and are told to change.
Federal records show a steep decline in staff covid cases since December, when health care workers at thousands of nursing homes began getting their shots. Still, many are reluctant to get vaccinated.
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Relatives and advocates are calling for federal authorities to relax restrictions in long-term care institutions and grant special status to “essential caregivers” — family members or friends who provide critically important hands-on care — so they have the opportunity to tend to relatives in need.
The debate begins with the covid death tallies. But the issues go beyond basic numbers.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that decision-making about the covid vaccine is complicated and multifaceted, which means persuading people to say yes will be, too.
Amid the disorganization and confusion of the vaccine distribution, smaller communities may have an advantage. In some long-term care facilities where vaccination is underway, things are looking up.