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HHS Report Calls for Action to Address Nursing Home Challenges Highlighted by COVID-19 Pandemic
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report that highlights the ongoing staffing challenges, costs, and infection control issues faced by nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and recommends strengthening workforce policies, reassessing training requirements, and updating infection control protocols to better protect residents and staff in the future.
The report posted February 29, 2024, is the third and final installment in a review of how nursing homes were affected by the pandemic. The findings gathered from interviewing 25 nursing home administrators are specifically presented for the advancement of efforts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Researchers found that staffing shortages due to turnover and burnout caused challenges. Nursing homes also struggled with low morale, high costs, ineffective infection control, noncompliance with PPE use, and low booster vaccination rates among staff.
Despite the challenges, the report highlighted that nursing homes were successful in implementing the initial vaccine rollout for residents and staff and received government-provided rapid coronavirus tests efficiently.
Recommendations for CMS encouraged by OIG included:
- To improve policies and programs for enhancing the nursing home workforce;
- To review and update nurse aide training and certification standards;
- To revise infection control requirements for nursing homes;
- To offer clear guidance and support to nursing homes on complying with these updated requirements; and
- To promote the sharing of information and strategies among nursing homes to help them address challenges and enhance care quality.
“Just because the public health emergency ended doesn’t mean we can go back to business as usual. There were long-standing problems in nursing homes that COVID exacerbated and rightfully brought to the fore,” said Rachel Bryan, the team leader for the study, in an interview with AARP.
CMS did not explicitly state its concurrence or nonconcurrence for the recommendations, agreeing with 2 and implementing the remaining 3, while OIG maintains that additional actions are needed and supports all 5 recommendations.
References
- Lessons learned during the pandemic can help improve care in nursing homes. US Department of Health and Human Services. Published February 29, 2024. OEI-02-20-00492. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/all-reports-and-publications/lessons-learned-during-the-pandemic-can-help-improve-care-in-nursing-homes/?stakeholder=lessons-covid-nursing-homes
- Lannan MK. New federal report highlights pandemic lessons for nursing homes. AARP. Published March 4, 2024. Accessed March 6, 2024. https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/nursing-homes/info-2024/pandemic-lessons-learned.html
