Covid-19 is working havoc on congregate care and nursing homes.  As NY’s Governor Cuomo so articulately put it,  “it just takes one [infected] person … to walk in there and then it is fire through dry grass.”

Much of this could have been seen coming

The elderly very often have conditions that make them more susceptible to severe Covid infection.  Yet laws in several states, as is the case in New York, preclude nursing homes from refusing to take patients with known or suspected infections.  Routine human error, failure to test, and poor test accuracy are just some of the problems we now have to face when we seek care for ourselves and our loved ones during this pandemic.

Nationwide, the disease caused by the coronavirus has killed more than 10,500 residents and staff members at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to a New York Times analysis.

States promise to investigate

While states have vowed to investigate Covid-19 deaths at nursing homes, such promises are little solace to those who entrusted the care of their parents and grandparents to these institutions only to lose them to the disease.  Many times, people are told at the last minute that their loved ones have contracted Covid-19 or that they may not have the opportunity to see them again.

Mourning our losses is central to our DNA

In the coming days we will be updating you on developments in these cases.  And we want you to know that we are available to you to discuss any elder care matter.

For more on Covid-19, laws, and the current situation in nursing homes, see: