While some Bay
Area counties have issued health code orders banning visitors from skilled
nursing homes, as of Friday, most local counties have not.
California is home
to more than 1,200 skilled nursing homes in which nurses and healthcare staff
care for more than 400,000 elderly or sick Californians, according to the
California Association of Health Facilities. These are people the Center for
Disease Control say are the most vulnerable to serious illness from
COVID-19.
NBC Bay Area’s
Investigative Unit reached out to every Bay Area county. As of Friday, Sonoma,
San Francisco and San Mateo counties have issued visitor restriction orders to
nursing facilities. Others have issued guidelines or directed nursing home
operators and patients to state guidance.
“I don’t think
that’s soft. I think it’s collaborative,” said Nicole Howell, Executive
Director of Ombudsman Services for Solano, Contra Costa and Alameda County.
“People are more likely to hear that if you come a little more open than simply
telling them what they have to do.”
Friday evening,
the federal government took a stricter stance indicating it plans to ban all
nursing home visits across the country.
At Laguna Honda,
one of the Bay Area’s largest skilled nursing facilities, staff said they
struggle with staffing levels and underfunding.
“I don’t think we
are nearly as prepared as we should be to deal with this because this is so new
to us,” said Brandon Dawkins who is an activity therapy supervisor at Laguna
Honda.
Howell said more
staffing problems can mean added risk to a facility’s health safety plan.
“So many
caregivers work multiple jobs at multiple facilities, maybe even multiple
counties. It also places us at an additional risk because a caregiver could not
know they’re sick and go from one facility to another,” she said.
Our Investigative
Unit reached out to the San Francisco Department of Public Health with specific
questions about staffing and equipment. The department oversees Laguna Honda.
An official said they had no statement referring us to the hospital’s
website.
Over the years,
skilled nursing facilities have generally received less than stellar safety
scores compared to other health facilities, like hospitals and surgical
clinics, according to state data. State health data also shows “infection
control” is the most common type of code violation.
It’s a problem,
Dawkins says, that’s as serious as it is socially isolating for his long-term
care residents.
“I have a strong
feeling as days and weeks go on it’s going to get more confusing to them,” he
said.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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