In the June 2020 report, Pennsylvania Department of Health nursing home surveyors conducted 269 inspections of nursing homes, including 238 complaint investigations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of these, 105 were COVID-19 specific. In addition, two sanctions were finalized against nursing care facilities, which included the issuance of one provisional two license, and civil penalties totaling $20,560.
“We know that congregate care settings, like nursing homes, have been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. “That is why we remain committed to protecting the health and well-being of our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians by continuing to hold nursing home operators accountable, as necessary, to ensure they are providing safe care. If you see something at a nursing home that doesn’t seem right, we encourage you to speak up.”
Individuals with complaints about a nursing home can file that complaint with the department in several ways. Complaints can be made anonymously by calling 1-800-254-5164, filling out the online complaint form, emailing c-ncomplai@pa.gov or sending the complaint in the mail to the department.
Although annual inspections are not occurring at this time, extensions are in place, according to guidance issued from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. The majority of other surveys are still occurring, both virtually and onsite. Virtual surveys provide the same level of access, but minimizes the spread of COVID-19.
The number of long-term care facility deaths continues to decrease, as reflected in the long-term care facility graphs on the department’s LTCF data page. New cases have increased over the past few weeks as facilities conduct universal testing to determine the prevalence of COVID-19. The majority of these new cases are individuals who were asymptomatic.
Recently, the Department of Health recognized nursing homes for reporting their COVID-19 facility information and 349 of the state’s 563 nursing homes for completing mandated universal testing. Levine also reminded all other nursing homes to report data daily and complete universal testing at least once by July 24.
“Our goal with implementing this universal testing in nursing homes is to rapidly detect asymptomatic positive residents and staff, manage their care and prevent further transmission of COVID-19 in these living settings,” said Levine. “As facilities implement universal testing and continue to report their facility information, it will help us understand how COVID-19 is impacting these vulnerable populations. Thank you to those facilities that have taken responsibility for completing and reporting, we appreciate your continued efforts to support residents across the state.”
The nursing home data, along with other long-term care facility data, is updated every Tuesday. Facilities are mandated by the Department of Health to report the number of cases, number of employee cases and number of deaths that have occurred at each facility. This nursing home data now includes the facilities that have completed universal testing across the state.
The department is helping facilities that are not reporting, or not reporting properly, to ensure the data is being shared properly in order to provide a comprehensive update each week. For facilities with fewer than five in any of the collected data points, the information is redacted to protect patient confidentiality. As testing becomes more widespread and ultimately universal, it is important that all facilities report all necessary information.
Levine said the Wolf Administration’s strategy to protect residents of LTCFs focuses on ensuring resident safety through education, resources and testing; preventing and mitigating outbreaks; and working in partnership with other state agencies, municipal and county health departments and LTCFs.
The department has partnered with CVS Health and Eurofins to provide additional assistance in nursing homes to ensure facilities have access to COVID-19 testing resources statewide.
Regarding the inspections, called surveys, these include information on nursing home patient-care and building inspections. If a facility is cited for not following regulations during the survey, it must submit a plan of correction that includes what will be done to fix the issue and a completion date. The department will conduct a surprise follow-up inspection to ensure the issue is resolved. Surveys are posted to the website 41 days after the survey is completed.
The department may also issue a sanction. Possible sanctions include a civil penalty, a ban on admissions, a license being revoked, or a facility being put on a provisional license, which requires, among other things, being subject to additional inspections. A provisional license can be renewed no more than three times. The department can return the facility to a regular license if it is satisfied that all issues have been corrected and it is warranted.
The department maintains a searchable database, which allows the public to view patient care surveys, building safety surveys, size of the nursing home, type of ownership and additional information about each of the nursing homes in the state. The department oversees nearly 700 nursing homes and more than 88,000 beds within nursing homes in Pennsylvania, in addition to other facilities, including hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, home care agencies and others.
Visit health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Nursing-Homes.aspx for more information.
