Severe Staffing And Personal Protective Equipment Shortages Faced By Nursing Homes During The COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to devastate US nursing homes. Adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and staffing levels are critical to protect nursing home residents and staff. Despite the importance of these basic measures, few national data are available concerning the state of nursing homes with respect to these resources. This article presents results from a new national database containing data from 98 percent of US nursing homes. We find that more than one in five nursing homes reports a severe shortage of PPE and any shortage of staff. Rates of both staff and PPE shortages did not meaningfully improve from May to July 2020. Facilities with COVID-19 cases among residents and staff, as well as those serving more Medicaid recipients and those with lower quality scores, were more likely to report shortages. Policies aimed at providing resources to obtain additional direct care staff and PPE for these vulnerable nursing homes, particularly in areas with rising community COVID-19 case rates, are needed to reduce the national COVID-19 death toll.

Homes for the aged: a study of a health region in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil / Lares para idosos: um estudo em uma região de saúde do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

INTRODUCTION: With the aging of the population, the demand for Homes for the Aged (HFAs) grows. OBJECTIVE: To analyze resources and population of HFAs and to check the fulfillment of the criteria from the national regulations. METHODS: Descriptive quantitative study including 11 philanthropic HFAs in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data was collected through a questionnaire applied to the responsible for the facility. RESULTS: The study comprised 318 workers and 522 elders. HFAs presented: some accommodations without private bathrooms (100%); external area and administrative office (72.7%); cafeteria and support room (54.5%); ecumenical room (36.4%); rooms with more than four beds (45.5%). The prevailing reasons for admission were brought by family member (69.2%); social vulnerability (36.4%). Death was the main reason for leaving the facility. The average age of elders was 76.8 years, 58.4% were women. The dependence grade was I for 31.1%; II for 33.9%; and III for 35%. Leisure and cultural activities occurred in 72.7% of HFAs. In 27.3% there were records of visits. Only 9.1% had cooperation from families. Available human resources were nurses (72.7%); physicians and nursing assistants (63.3%); physical therapists (45.5%); psychologists (36.4%); caregivers (27.3%); occupational therapists (9.1%). In 63.3% of facilities, workers carried out mixed activities. The costs were covered by retirement pensions, partnerships, and donations. The main obstacles were financial resources or dependence on donations and rigorous health surveillance or compliance with standards. CONCLUSION: The HFAs partially fulfill the national criteria, impairing the quality of care provided to elders.

INTRODUÇÃO: Com o aumento do envelhecimento, cresce a procura por Instituições de Longa Permanência para Idosos (HFAs). OBJETIVO: Analisar recursos e população de HFAs, verificando-se o cumprimento dos critérios da RDC nº 283/2005 da Anvisa. MÉTODOS: Pesquisa descritiva e quantitativa com 11 HFAs filantrópicas no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. A coleta de dados foi realizada por questionário aplicado ao responsável pela unidade. RESULTADOS: O estudo envolveu 318 trabalhadores e 522 idosos. As HFAs apresentaram: alguns quartos sem banheiro (100%); área externa e sala administrativa (72,7%); refeitório e sala de apoio (54,5%); sala ecumênica (36,4%); quartos com mais de quatro leitos (45,5%). As razões de admissão prevalentes foram: idosos trazidos por familiares (69,2%) e vulnerabilidade social (36,4%). A morte foi a principal razão de saída. A idade média dos idosos foi 76,8 anos e 58,4% eram mulheres. O grau de dependência foi I para 31.1%; II para 33,9% e III para 35%. Atividades de lazer e cultura ocorrem em 72,7% das HFAs. Em 27,3% há registro de visitas. Somente 9,1% atuam junto às famílias. Os recursos humanos disponíveis foram enfermeiro (72,7%), médico e técnico de enfermagem (63,3%), fisioterapeuta (45,5%), psicólogo (36,4%) e cuidador (27,3%). Em 63,3% das unidades, trabalhadores realizam atividades mistas. Os custos são cobertos por aposentadorias, parcerias e doações. As principais dificuldades foram recursos financeiros ou dependência de doações e rigor da vigilância sanitária ou cumprimento de normas. CONCLUSÃO: As HFAs cumprem parcialmente aos critérios da Resolução, prejudicando a qualidade do atendimento aos idosos.

Black-White Disparities in Moves to Assisted Living and Nursing Homes Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries.

OBJECTIVES: Investigate black-white disparities in older adults' moves to assisted living and nursing homes and draw from the Andersen Healthcare Utilization Model to test explanations for any disparities. METHODS: Data are from a nationally representative sample of older community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries from the 2015 (N = 5,212) National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). We use stepwise multinomial logistic regression to examine black-white disparities in moves out of community housing to assisted living or a nursing home over 2 years, before and after adjusting for predisposing (age, gender), enabling (income, housing tenure, Medicaid, living arrangement) and need (activities of daily living [ADL] limitation, physical capacity, self-rated health, and dementia) factors. RESULTS: Black older adults are less likely to move to assisted living and are more likely to move to a nursing home compared to white older adults. Black-white disparities in moves to nursing homes are explained by black-white differences in enabling and need factors, whereas black-white disparities in moves to assisted living remain even after adjusting for enabling and need factors. DISCUSSION: Unmeasured factors related to systemic racism (e.g., residential racial segregation, racial discrimination) and/or black-white differences in care preferences might further explain black-white disparities in moves to assisted living and warrant further investigation.

Mediating Systems of Care: Emergency Calls to Long-Term Care Facilities at Life's End.

BACKGROUND: Nursing home (NH) residents account for over 2.2 million emergency department visits yearly; the majority are cared for and transported by prehospital providers (emergency medical technicians and paramedics). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate prehospital providers' perceptions of emergency calls at life's end. This article focuses on perceptions of end-of-life calls in long-term care (LTC). DESIGN: This pilot study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. Concepts from the symbolic interaction theory guided the exploration of perceptions and interpretations of emergency calls in LTC facilities. SETTING/SUBJECTS: A purposeful sample of prehospital providers was developed from one agency in a small northeastern U.S. city. MEASUREMENTS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 43 prehospital providers to explore their perceptions of factors that trigger emergency end-of-life calls in LTC facilities. Qualitative data analysis involved iterative coding in an inductive process that included open, systematic, focused, and axial coding. RESULTS: Interview themes illustrated the contributing factors as follows: care crises; dying-related turmoil; staffing ratios; and organizational protocols. Distress was crosscutting and present in all four themes. CONCLUSIONS: The findings illuminate how prehospital providers become mediators between NHs and emergency departments by managing tension, conflict, and challenges in patient care between these systems and suggest the importance of further exploration of interactions between LTC staff, prehospital providers, and emergency departments. Enhanced communication between LTC facilities and prehospital providers is important to address potentially inappropriate calls and transport requests and to identify means for collaboration in the care of sick frail residents.

Geospatial analysis and distribution patterns of home nursing care in a metropolitan area - a large-scale analysis.

AIMS: This study focuses on home nursing care distribution in an urban setting in Germany. BACKGROUND: A shortage of nursing care workforce is present in Germany. METHODS: A geospatial analysis was performed to examine distribution patterns at the district level in Frankfurt, Germany (n = 46 districts) and factors were analysed influencing the location choice of home nursing care providers (n = 151). Furthermore, within the analysis we focused on the population aged over 65 years to model the demand for nursing care. RESULTS: The analysis revealed a tendency of home nursing care providers to be located near the city centre (centripetal distribution pattern). However, the demand for care showed more inconsistent patterns. Still, a centripetal distribution pattern of demand could be stated. Compared with the control groups (e.g. acute hospitals and pharmacies) similar geographical distribution patterns were present. However, the location of home nursing care providers was less influenced by demand compared with the control groups. CONCLUSION: The supply of nursing care was unevenly distributed in this metropolitan setting, but still matched the demand for nursing care. IMPLICATION FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Due to the rapidly changing health care environments policy, regulations must be (re-)evaluated critically to improve the management and delivery of nursing care provision.

Regional Supply of Nursing Home and Hospital Beds Determine Discharge Destination of Nursing Home Residents in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: Japanese special nursing homes provide permanent residence to elderly people under the public long-term care insurance program. However, a quarter of discharges occur via death in hospital, and a fifth occur via admission to hospital. The objective was to identify factors associated with discharge destinations for residents of Japanese special nursing homes. DESIGN: A retrospective design for data collected in 2007, 2010, and 2013. SETTING: We used data from the Survey of Institutions and Establishments for Long-Term Care, which is a nationally representative cross-sectional survey that assessed discharge from special nursing homes in September every 3 years. PARTICIPANTS: There were 2426 discharged residents included in the analysis. MEASUREMENTS: Discharge destination was categorized as death at facility, death in hospital, hospital admission, and another care setting. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted with discharge destination as the dependent variable. RESULTS: Of the 2426 discharged residents included in the analysis, 874 (36.0%) were deceased at the facility, 773 (31.9%) were deceased in hospital, 652 (26.9%) were admitted to hospital, and 127 (5.2%) were admitted to another care setting. Residents of facilities in the regions with fewer nursing home beds or more hospital beds were more likely to be discharged via admittance to hospital or another care setting relative to being deceased at the facility. CONCLUSION: The regional supply of nursing home and hospital beds could have affected end-of-life care locations for residents of special nursing homes. To promote end-of-life care in special nursing homes, regional supply of nursing home beds should be reinforced while controlling oversupply of hospital beds.

A Cinderella service no more?

Care homes offer unique clinical and management opportunities for ambitious nurses and will provide the leaders of the future, says Care UK's Pauline Houchin.

The Untold Story of Being Designated an Alternate Level of Care Patient.

INTRODUCTION: Much of the research and policy reports on Alternate Level of Care (ALC) in Canada have focused on the impact ALC has on acute care services. To date, the experiences and opinions of those who must wait in hospital for alternate services have been largely absent from discussions. METHOD: A qualitative study was conducted with patients and families designated as ALC in one urban and two rural hospitals in Atlantic Canada. Data were analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the data: a perception of normalcy, being old but not sick and anticipating relocation to another facility. CONCLUSIONS: ALC is an important issue for patients and their families. Policy directives aimed at addressing the causes and impacts of ALC, identification and provision of appropriate supportive care in the community and sensitivity to the impact of ALC for individuals designated as ALC are needed.

Testing the bed-blocking hypothesis: does nursing and care home supply reduce delayed hospital discharges?

Hospital bed-blocking occurs when hospital patients are ready to be discharged to a nursing home, but no place is available, so that hospital care acts as a more costly substitute for long-term care. We investigate the extent to which greater supply of nursing home beds or lower prices can reduce hospital bed-blocking using a new Local Authority (LA) level administrative data from England on hospital delayed discharges in 2009-2013. The results suggest that delayed discharges respond to the availability of care home beds, but the effect is modest: an increase in care home beds by 10% (250 additional beds per LA) would reduce social care delayed discharges by about 6-9%. We also find strong evidence of spillover effects across LAs: more care home beds or fewer patients aged over 65 years in nearby LAs are associated with fewer delayed discharges.

International variation in place of death of older people who died from dementia in 14 European and non-European countries.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to examine variation in place of death of older people dying from dementia in countries across 4 continents. DESIGN: Study of death certificate data. METHODS: We included deaths of older (65 + years) people whose underlying cause of death was a dementia-related disease (ICD-10: F01, F02, F03, G30) in Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Wales, France, Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. We examined associations between place of death and sociodemographic factors, social support, and residential and health care system factors. RESULTS: Overall, 4.8% of all deaths were from a dementia-related disease, ranging from 0.4% in Mexico to 6.9% in Canada. Of those deaths, the proportion occurring in hospital varied from 1.6% in the Netherlands to 73.6% in South Korea. When controlling for potential confounders, hospital death was more likely for men, those younger than 80, and those married or living in a region with a higher availability of long-term care beds, although this could not be concluded for each country. Hospital death was least likely in the Netherlands compared with other countries. CONCLUSIONS: Place of death of older people who died from a dementia-related disease differs substantially between countries, which might point to organizational differences in end-of-life care provision. Increasing the availability of long-term care beds might be important to reduce the number of hospital deaths, while focusing specialized end-of-life care services on married people or those aged 65 to 79 might be crucial for achieving home death. However, proper end-of-life care needs to be ensured in hospitals, should this be the most appropriate end-of-life care setting.

The 'right' place to care for older people: home or institution?

In 2008, the Minister of Health for Iceland issued a new regulation intended to govern assessment practices related to placement in nursing homes. One of the aims of the regulation was to ensure that those with the most severe need would have priority. This would be achieved, in part, by requiring older people to exhaust all available community-based service options before an assessment for placement would even take place. The new regulation was received with some hostility and criticism on the part of older people and their relatives, who described the changed expectations as 'abandonment' by the authorities. We present our analysis of these changes by examining how older people and families are reconfigured through the new policy and argue that this 'new' practice of de-institutionalization is underpinned by a shifting epistemic and normative context that is working to create a new identity and a different way of life in advanced age in Iceland. The analysis has implications for other nations as well, as much policy related to older people is broadly informed by this idea that 'home is best', that is, the idea that more care simply needs to happen outside of institutional settings.

Turning for Ulcer ReductioN: a multisite randomized clinical trial in nursing homes.

OBJECTIVES: To determine optimal repositioning frequency of nursing home (NH) residents at risk for pressure ulcers (PrUs) when cared for on high-density foam mattresses. DESIGN: Multisite, randomized, clinical trial, known as Turning for Ulcer ReductioN (TURN Study). SETTINGS: NHs in the United States (n = 20) and Canada (n = 7) using high-density foam mattresses. PARTICIPANTS: Consenting residents (N = 942) aged 65 and older without PrUs at moderate (scores 13-14) or high (scores 10-12) risk of PrUs according to the Braden Scale. INTERVENTION: Participants were randomly allocated using risk stratification (moderate vs high) to a repositioning schedule (2, 3, or 4 hour) for 3 weeks. Blinded assessors assessed skin weekly. MEASUREMENTS: PrU incidence (coccyx or sacrum, trochanter, heels). RESULTS: Participants were mostly female (77.6%) and Caucasian (80.5%) and had a mean age of 85.1 ± 7.7. The most common diagnoses were cardiovascular (76.9%) and dementia (72.5%). Nineteen (2.0%) participants developed superficial PrUs. There was no significant difference (Wilcoxon test for ordered categories) in PrU incidence (P = .68) according to repositioning group (2 hour, 8/321, 2.5%; 3 hour, 2/326, 0.6%; 4 hour, 9/295, 3.1%), nor was there a statistically significant difference in the incidence of PrU between the high and moderate-risk groups (P = .79). Also, PrU incidence was not statistically significantly different between high-risk participants based on repositioning schedule (6/325, 1.8%, P = .90) or between moderate-risk participants based on repositioning schedule (13/617, 2.1%, P = .68). CONCLUSION: There was no difference in PrU incidence over 3 weeks of observation between those turned at 2-, 3-, or 4-hour intervals in this population of residents using high-density foam mattresses at moderate and high risk of developing PrUs when they were repositioned consistently and skin was monitored. This finding has major implications for use of nursing staff and cost of NH care.

Factors associated with prolonged length of hospital stay of elderly patients in acute care hospitals in Japan: a multilevel analysis of patients with femoral neck fracture.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze possible factors associated with prolonged length of stay (LOS) in hip fracture patients in Japan, such as the availability of beds in medical and nursing care facilities at the community level, as well as patient factors, clinical factors and hospital structural characteristics. METHODS: The sample for analysis consisted of 8318 hip fracture cases from 199 hospitals throughout Japan. We conducted multilevel analyses to investigate whether LOS and the discharge destinations of patients are associated with the availability and utilization of medical and nursing care resources in the communities where each hospital is located. RESULTS: After adjusting for patient factors, clinical factors and hospital structural characteristics, a higher number of long-term care beds at the community level was observed to be significantly correlated with both shorter LOS and increased rate of discharge to other facilities. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Although the Japanese government is attempting to reduce acute care hospital LOS and the number of long-term care beds in order to reduce health care costs, the results of this study suggest that a reduction in the number of long-term care beds would not necessarily reduce the LOS of acute care hospitals, and may instead exacerbate the problem.

Reduction of belt restraint use: long-term effects of the EXBELT intervention.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the long-term effects of the EXBELT intervention program, which was designed to reduce belt restraint use and was found to be effective immediately after implementation, after 24 months. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental longitudinal design. SETTING: Thirteen nursing homes: seven assigned to control group and six to intervention group. PARTICIPANTS: A panel group (n = 225) of residents present at baseline and 24 months after baseline and a survey group (n = 689) of all residents present 24 months after baseline. The survey group included the panel group. INTERVENTION: EXBELT included four components: a policy change, an educational program, consultation, and availability of alternative interventions. MEASUREMENTS: The use of belt restraints 24 months after baseline was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcomes included other types of physical restraints. An independent observer collected data four times during a 24-hour period. RESULTS: EXBELT resulted in a 65% decrease in belt use between baseline and 24 months after baseline in the panel group (odds ratio 0.35, 95% confidence interval = 0.13-0.93; P = .04). In the survey group, the proportion of residents using belts was 13% in the control and 3% in the intervention group (P < .001) 24 months after baseline. The use of the most restrictive types of restraints was significantly lower in the intervention group than the control group in the panel and survey groups. CONCLUSION: The EXBELT intervention was associated with long-term minimization of belt restraint usage in older nursing home residents. A multicomponent intervention including institutional policy change, education, consultation, and the availability of alternative interventions had an enduring effect on successful restraint reduction.

Forced into exile: the traumatising impact of rural aged care service inaccessibility.

INTRODUCTION: The shortage of residential aged care places is especially acute in rural areas and this results in many older people who live in these areas being forced to leave their home communities to access care in distant communities. This article reports on one aspect of a larger study that explored family and caring community members' experiences when someone they cared for needed to access residential aged care away from their rural communities. METHODS: This qualitative research project, informed by phenomenology, was conducted in rural communities of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Participants were recruited from media coverage of the proposed research. Indepth interviews were conducted, audiotaped and transcribed. Thematic analysis was undertaken by two researchers independently analysing the themes and then cross-checking these to ensure their strength. RESULTS: The 21 interviews conducted revealed that inaccessibility of residential aged care places caused many to experience loss, loneliness and a sense of social disconnectedness. The affected rural older person is exiled from their home community only to return to be buried. There are implications for the family and the rural community who are distanced by kilometres, transport and finances and, more significantly, by the emotional ties that bind families, friends and communities. CONCLUSION: The participants whose experiences were explored in this article described a sense of being in exile when residential aged care services are inaccessible in their local communities. The sense of exile is felt not only by the person moving away but also by their family, friends and neighbours. For this reason, rural residential aged care service delivery should be based on the identified needs of the older person and those who love and care for them.