PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The Wolf Administration on Tuesday released data on the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths at long-term care facilities in Pennsylvania.
The data provides the number of cases, number of employee cases, and number of deaths that have occurred at each facility. For facilities with less than five in any of these data points, the information is redacted.
In a release, the Wolf Administration said it has taken a three-pillar approach to protecting the vulnerable residents living in nursing homes and other long-term living settings:
Ensuring resident safety through testing, education and resources;
Preventing and mitigating outbreaks; and
Working in partnership with state agencies, local health departments and long-term care facility operators.
Guidance released last week to hospitals and skilled nursing homes require a resident who is being discharged from a hospital to a nursing home, personal care home, or assisted living facility be tested for COVID-19, if they were not hospitalized due to the virus. This will provide valuable information to the long-term care facility on any needs to cohort the patient, monitor their condition, and take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the virus, if applicable.
In addition, a Health Alert was previously issued to provide direction to all skilled nursing facilities on a universal testing strategy, outlining when testing should be used, and what steps to take after a positive test result. Test results can be used to cohort those exposed, determine the burden of COVID-19 across units or facilities to allocate resources, identify health care workers who are infected, and address those who are no longer ill.
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.
