Nursing Home Deaths Exceed 2,000 in 4 Weeks Medical

COVID Keeps Pounding Nursing Homes Killing Over 2 000 Residents in Just 4 Weeks

Deaths almost doubled and staff shortages intensified AARP' s new monthly analysis shows

COVID-19 deaths in U.S. nursing homes almost doubled during a four -week period ending in mid-September, with more than 2,100 dying over the course of roughly a month, according to a . As infections and fatalities climbed, vaccinations among nursing home workers continued to lag, with only 67 percent of workers nationwide fully vaccinated as of Sept. 19. Staffing shortages in nursing homes, the analysis found, also increased, reaching levels comparable to last winter, when the nursing home COVID crisis was at its worst. While the COVID-19 death toll among residents in AARP’s latest four-week analysis is only around one-tenth what it was during last winter’s peak, it represents the highest four-week total since March. In just a month, the death rate jumped from around 1 in every 1,000 residents dying from the virus to 1 in every 520. Since midsummer, when the death rate hit a low of around 1 in every 3,000 residents, it has increased more than sixfold. “It may seem low compared to the course of the pandemic” says AARP's Ari Houser, a senior methods adviser and coauthor of AARP’s monthly analysis on COVID-19 in nursing homes, “but more than 2,000 people dying from COVID in just one month is not a small number. “Deaths and cases have risen significantly in the past few months, showing the pandemic is far from over.” COVID-19 has killed , accounting for more than a fifth of the U.S. death toll from the pandemic. As deaths rose in recent weeks, so did new resident infections, which topped 20,000 in the four weeks ending Sept. 19 — an increase of about 50 percent from the previous four-week reporting period that ended Aug. 22. Staff member cases followed a similar trend, with new cases topping 27,000, up from 22,000 in the previous four-week period. Resident and staff infections are up about 10-fold since midsummer. The virus also spread to more facilities than in previous months, with 27 percent of nursing homes nationwide reporting new COVID-19 infections among residents and more than 61 percent reporting new staff cases, the new analysis found. During the midsummer lows, only 4 percent of facilities reported new resident cases and only 14 percent reported new staff cases. Cases were concentrated among the unvaccinated, the analysis found, with residents who are not fully vaccinated more than twice as likely to contract the virus as those who are fully vaccinated. “In fact, rates of new cases among unvaccinated residents and staff are higher than they were one year ago,” Houser says.

Deaths infections concentrated in certain states

The analysis tracked state-level data over the four weeks, showing that Oregon reported the highest rate of resident COVID-19 deaths: 1 in every 167 residents. West Virginia reported the highest rate of new resident infections, with around 1 in every 16 residents newly infected. And Alaska topped the rate of new staff infections, with around 1 staff member for every 13 residents newly infected.

Check the vaccination rates of your nursing home

You can now find vaccination rates of both residents and staff at any Medicare-certified nursing home and compare it with state and national averages on Medicare.gov’s Find a nursing home’s profile via the home page’s search function Visit the “Details” section of its profile Click the “View COVID-19 Vaccination Rates” button Florida is reporting alarming figures in its more than 700 nursing homes
Nationally, 67 percent of nursing home workers were fully inoculated as of Sept. 19, representing an increase of around 3 percent since the previous reporting period. Meanwhile, the number of fully vaccinated residents increased by 1 percent, to 85 percent. President Joe Biden announced in mid-August that U.S. must require their workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. A deadline and other details for the federal requirement are yet to be announced, but some state governments and nursing home operators have already imposed their own mandates. AARP has against COVID-19. Nancy A. LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer, urged a faster uptake in light of AARP’s new analysis. “Tragically, we are still seeing far too many infections and deaths in these facilities,” she says. “It is past time to vaccinate all staff and residents and prevent yet another wave of this virus from taking more lives.”

Worker shortages almost at their worst

The ratio of nursing homes reporting a shortage of nurses or aides jumped to almost 1 in 3 — the second worst on record for the pandemic — the new analysis found. Staffing shortages of this magnitude were last reported when COVID-19 was surging toward its winter peak in December and January. The shortages are hitting some states particularly hard, including Alaska, Maine and Washington, where more than 60 percent of nursing homes reported not having enough staff. While the data do esn’t say what’s causing the shortages, likely factors are COVID-19’s current comeback via the delta variant, the growing number of vaccine mandates, and worker burnout, as highlighted in . The results are causing many industry stakeholders to revisit long-standing staffing issues in long-term care, such as low wages, limited career growth opportunities and a lack of enforceable minimum staff-to-resident ratios. AARP has now before Congress to help address these issues and ensure residents are receiving quality care. AARP's analysis, conducted by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the in Ohio, draws primarily on data acquired from the. Most to the government each week. The ongoing analysis captures data only from federally certified nursing homes, not from all long-term care facilities — such as assisted living, independent living, memory care and others — as some other tallies do. An updated analysis will be released next month as new federal data becomes available. Emily Paulin is a contributing writer who covers nursing homes, health care, and federal and state policy. Her work has also appeared in Broadsheet, an Australian lifestyle publication.

More on Coronavirus and Nursing Homes

Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Shopping & Groceries offers > See more Family Caregiving offers > See more Family Caregiving offers > See more Groceries offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures

Close In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails related to AARP volunteering. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly receive communications related to AARP volunteering. In the meantime, please feel free to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again.