Amid Covid-19, Nursing Home Deaths Due To Neglect Skyrocket in the Shadows

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on society, and that impact has hit the elderly the hardest. Though the virus is spreading like wildfire through nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, reporting from The Associated Press demonstrates that deaths from COVID are only a shadow of the dangers posed to elderly loved ones in this troubled time.

Chronic understaffing at nursing homes had been a problem long before the COVID-19 pandemic, one serious enough that it was a common cause of elder abuse in said facilities. COVID-19 exacerbated this understaffing issue to previously unseen levels, as nurses already in stressful, low pay positions prior to the pandemic have been overworked from colleagues testing positive or calling in sick. Federal data indicates that in states where virus cases are surging, almost a quarter of nursing homes are reporting staff shortages.

This has had deep consequences on the level of care afforded to our elderly population. When long-term care facilities were initially sealed off in March, inspectors and advocates were locked out as well, even as disturbing reports leaked about major medical declines in nursing home residents. As families have gradually been permitted to visit their loved ones once again, they’ve often been horrified at what they see.

Grandmothers kept in soiled diapers so long their skin peeled off, grandfathers with tunneling black bedsores, and reunions that became funerals as loved ones perished from dehydration or starvation – this is the toll of the neglect that has become far too common in the wake of the pandemic. As more than 90,000 Americans in long-term care facilities have died to COVID-19, elder advocates report that deaths from neglect have also spiked and could total more than 40,000.

An expert who analyzed data from the nation’s nursing homes on behalf of The Associated Press estimates for every two COVID-19 deaths in long term care facilities, there is a premature death resulting from physical neglect or “failure to thrive.” The latter is the term listed on some death certificates for instances where doctors believe the deaths resulted from the despair of prolonged isolation.

Considering the scale of the dangers posed to nursing home residents in these times, it is vital to safely be there for your loved ones if they live in such a facility. To better understand what indicators to be on the alert for in order to keep them safe, please refer to the post, “COVID-19: What to Look for When Visiting Long-Term Care Facilities.”