For skilled nursing facilities, the report directly challenges the adequacy of current staffing minimums and survey methodologies as meaningful protections during health emergencies, with implications for minimum staffing rulemaking and infection control compliance monitoring.
The survey process did not identify any deficiencies in infection control for the majority of the nursing homes with extremely high infection rates, raising questions about how effective the survey process is in preventing and mitigating the spread of infectious disease in nursing homes. Also, the vast majority of nursing homes with extremely high infection rates reported nursing hours that met or exceeded Medicare’s specific minimum requirements for these hours, which may indicate that these requirements are not adequate to keep residents safe from infectious disease.
Citation: United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. More Than a Thousand Nursing Homes Reached Infection Rates of 75 Percent or More in the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic; Better Protections Are Needed for Future Emergencies. Report no. OEI-02-20-00491, 12 Jan. 2023, oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2023/more-than-a-thousand-nursing-homes-reached-infection-rates-of-75-percent-or-more-in-the-first-year-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-better-protections-are-needed-for-future-emergencies/.
OIG: Pandemic Data Shows Major Changes Needed in Nursing Home Staffing, Surveys, Infection Control
More than 1,300 nursing homes had Covid-19 infection rates of 75% or more during surges in 2020, even though most of them had no infection control issues as identified by surveys, as well as nursing hours that met or exceeded Medicare minimums, the OIG analysis found. “Meeting these requirements did not prevent these nursing homes from reaching the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the country,” OIG said in its report, also pointing out that the nursing hour requirements were established in 1987.
— Skilled Nursing News, January 19, 2023
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