COVID-19 has devastated Kentucky’s nursing homes. Here’s how you can help.

No segment of American society has been hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic than nursing homes. Kentucky’s nursing homes have been particularly ravaged.

In May, the New York Times reported that 57 percent of Kentucky’s COVID-19 fatalities had occurred among nursing home residents and staff, making the Commonwealth one of only 14 states where nursing home deaths were 50 percent or more of coronavirus losses.

To get a better picture of what’s going on now—and an idea of what ordinary citizens might do to help—I checked in with the Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass, Inc., also referred to as NHOA. I wrote a previous column about the agency in 2019, before COVID-19 became an issue.

NHOA works in Central Kentucky to improve the quality of care for residents of long-term care facilities. It also oversees a statewide ombudsman program under a contract with the Kentucky Department of Aging and Independent Living.

Here’s a summary of my three-person phone conversation with Denise Wells, the Bluegrass agency’s executive director, and Sherry Culp, state long-term care ombudsman. Except where noted, I’ve combined their answers for brevity and clarity:

How would you describe the impact of COVID-19 on Kentucky’s nursing homes?

Nursing home residents were already vulnerable. Many are ill. Many suffer from dementia. Seventy percent are impoverished, some by the cost of their long-term care. About 60 percent of residents never have a visitor even in the best of times. But now, the 40 percent who normally would have visitors are cut off, too. And nursing home staffs have had to end social activities within facilities to prevent residents from infecting each other.

Some residents maintain contact with the outside through cell phones and other electronic devices, but others don’t have those devices or can’t use them. We’ve all seen touching videos of families conducting “window visits” with nursing-home residents. However, many facilities are built in ways that make window visits impossible.

Bottom line: Isolation is a huge issue. This sense of being cut off has created widespread anxiety.

“I’ve seen a lot more anxiety than depression,” Wells said.

How much of the damage in nursing facilities was preventable?

Lax state laws on staffing are a big reason nursing homes have become virus hotspots.

To monitor patients adequately and identify infections early, homes need a registered nurse on site 24/7. Current law only requires a registered nurse present eight hours a day. Nurses often must spend much of that time on paperwork and administration.

Aides who do most of the hands-on care in these facilities tend to be undertrained and sometimes unaware of best practices for preventing contamination.

“These are challenges we’re going to have to overcome in the future,” Culp said. “It’s easy for (a virus) to be brought into a building.”

What is the situation presently—and going forward?

As bad as it’s been, Wells said, “it really could have been a lot worse.”

She credited Gov. Andy Beshear for acting boldly to impose restrictions on facilities. That slowed the spread of COVID-19.

What are residents’ primary needs?

Foremost, an increase in staffing. Many facilities already had staff shortages when the crisis hit. Now residents can’t see their loved ones and can’t interact with other residents due to social distancing. They desperately need one-on-one attention.

It’s crucial that facilities acknowledge they’re short-handed and hire more workers, Culp said.

What are staff members’ needs?

Facilities need to continue paying hazardous duty wages.

Staff members also are working longer hours and extra shifts, even though many have children. This would be a great time for friends to pitch in by volunteering to provide childcare for staff members, run errands, shop for groceries or cut the grass.

“Don’t treat them like they work in an infection colony,” Culp said.

Staff members also need better communication from nursing home management. They need to know if a coworker is diagnosed with COVID-19, for instance.

What can the public do?

▪ Churches or civic organizations can build plexiglass visiting rooms or boxes at the front doors of nursing homes. These enable residents to safely see and talk with relatives, ombudsmen and healthcare providers. Contact your nursing home’s administrators directly and partner with them.

▪ If you have a loved one in a facility who is capable of using a cell phone or tablet, this is a great time to get them one. Ask if someone on staff can teach your loved one to use the device.

▪ Send greeting cards to residents through NHOA, 3138 Custer Dr., Suite 110, Lexington, Ky. 40517. Ombudsmen will distribute the cards. Residents would enjoy pen pals, too.

▪ Start a family support groups or family council group at your loved one’s nursing home. Contact Wells or Culp at NHOA@ombuddy.org or call (859) 277-9215.

▪ Broadcast your local church’s services into a nursing home using Zoom or another online program. Contact that facility’s management. If you don’t receive a response, the ombudsmen will help.

Paul Prather is pastor of Bethesda Church near Mount Sterling. You can email him at pratpd@yahoo.com.

This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 11:07 AM with the headline "COVID-19 has devastated Kentucky’s nursing homes. Here’s how you can help.."