In April, when the coronavirus pandemic swept through nursing across the country, Seema Verma, director of the Centers for Medicare
In its final report published Wednesday, six months later, the independent working group made 27 recommendations emphasizing a national testing strategy, offering services with at least 3 months of non-public protective appliances and proceeding to ensure that the right games are played. for inflamed or in all likelihood inflamed residents.
The 186-page report also calls for greater communication between residents and families, a greater presence of registered nurses and infection prevention officials in institutions, more opportunities for progress for qualified nurse practices, and a more powerful long-term care infrastructure.
“The Commission urges CMS, as the leading federal firm guilty of tracking the quality and protection of nursing homes, to lead, protect and ensure the duty of nursing homes, their citizens and in the national reaction to the pandemic. ” the commission said. wrote.
Although the report does not explain how the recommendations will be financed, the committee noted that some members strongly stated that the CMS deserves not to make unfunded mandates. “If the CMS implements the recommendations and action steps in this report, it will need to do so. “in a way that ensures that investment mechanisms are in a position to help them,” the commission wrote.
Nursing homes have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly 12,000 services across the country reported COVID-19 among its citizens and staff, resulting in more than 50,000 deaths among citizens of long-term care services, according to CMS.
In the report, the committee noted that the recommendations are high and probably insufficient to allow nursing homes to go through the next crisis unless accompanied by a “more general and lasting change in formula”. that can protect the protection and well-being of some of the most vulnerable members of our population. “
“The time has come for a turning point in home care. The Commission envisages a resilient, person-centered care formula that is best for the next generation, one that values and respects the elderly and others with disabilities more deeply as important to the fabric of American society,” the commission wrote.
While the recommendations to CMS are not legally binding, Jeannee Parker Martin, president and CEO of leading senior advocacy organization LeadingAge California and one of the members of the commission, said CMS will make the most important recommendations immediately.
In a press release, CMS said the commission’s findings were in line with measures taken through the Trump administration and cmS to involve the virus and “protect citizens of nursing homes from the continued risk of the COVID-19 pandemic. “
“The Trump administration’s effort to call vulnerable citizens of COVID-19 retirement homes is unprecedented,” CMS administrator Seema Verma said. “By teaching a contractor to convene this independent commission from a wide variety of experts and stakeholders, President Trump has sought to further refine our technique as we continue to fight the virus in the coming months. Their findings are an invaluable long-term action plan and a brilliant justification for our comprehensive technique to date.
But some nursing home advocates say the report does little to establish higher criteria for nursing homes.
Eric Carlson, the leader of the justice suggestion at Agin and one of the board members, approved the report and said he did address the application of federal quality of care criteria.
“With a few exceptions, these recommendations and action measures address the responsibility of nursing homes and their operators,” Carlson said in a statement. “The result is an unbalanced report that provides a misleading impression of CMS paper. “
Michael Brevda, a yer at Boca Raton-based Senior Justice, echoed those sentiments.
“The Commission’s final report misses the opportunity to create and apply genuine quality criteria in nursing homes,” Brevda told ABC News. “Administrative fines for unwanted incidents such as pressure ulcers, drug errors, and fall injuries would greatly discourage poor care in nursing homes. .
“We can replace that through legal responsibility,” Brevda continued. “Unfortunately, the Commission’s final report does not target. “
Toby Edelman, senior attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy, a nonprofit that provides legal assistance to seniors, said the report is “too easy” for nursing services and the federal government.
“The report necessarily treats nursing services as if they had no duty for the tens of thousands of citizen and staff deaths,” Edelman told ABC News. “This remedy with a child’s glove is not justified when studies imply that establishments with higher staff grades have fewer cases and fewer deaths. “
“During the pandemic, the federal government largely took a non-interventionist approach,” Edelman continued. “. . . left states and conveniences alone to respond to the crisis, to proper practices, to download and demand evidence from citizens and staff, to download and use non-public protective equipment. “
In August, a new CMS mandate required nursing homes to review everything and conduct widespread checks among citizens. Nursing homes that do not control citizens and may face fines under the measure announced through the Trump administration. Federal agencies have announced that they will provide point-of-care verification kits to 15,000 nursing homes across the country. A CMS spokesman told ABC News last week that just over 13,000 machines and approximately five million pay-per-view checks have been sent to 13,343 services to date.
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