Wildfire Smoke Endangers Air Quality Inside LTC Facilities

In regions impacted by wildfire smoke, the air quality inside long-term care (LTC) facilities may not be any better than the air quality outdoors, KFF Health News recently reported.

Research at 4 LTC facilities in Idaho found that one building let in 100% of outside particulate matter from wildfire smoke. Another building let in 50%. The lack of quality air puts vulnerable patients, particularly those with respiratory or cardiac conditions, at risk. Nevertheless, federal regulations for skilled nursing facility participation in Medicaid and Medicare fail to address the quality of indoor air, according to the article.

“An astonishing amount of smoke gets inside these facilities,” environmental toxicologist Luke Montrose, PhD, of Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, told the news provider.

Over the past 5 years, Dr Montrose has worked to place air quality monitors in more LTC facilities. It was his research that discovered the 100% match between outdoor and indoor particulate air pollution at the Idaho LTC facility in 2020. Data he collected from 6 LTC facilities in Idaho and Montana a year later also revealed practically identical air quality indoors and outdoors on smoky days.

Although staff turnover and worker shortages at LTC facilities have posed challenges to Dr Montrose’s efforts, some organizations are catching on. After Edgewood Healthcare facilities in Boise, Idaho, had air quality monitors installed last year, regional maintenance director Mark Troen began acting on the data generated. Now, when levels indicate indoor air quality is threatened, he ramps up air filters to track more particulates, turns off outdoor air intake, and informs workers to keep doors and windows closed.

“To actually see in real time what your indoor air quality is is huge,” Troen said in the article. “It helps us mitigate some of those problems, rather than waiting until it’s bad.”

While Dr Montrose’s efforts are currently focused on LTC facilities in Idaho, Montana, and Colorado, wildfire smoke has become a national issue, University of Washington postdoctoral scholar Savannah D’Evelyn, PhD, told KFF Health News.

“I think honing in on this particular community that is really quite impacted by smoke exposure on the health side of things is really great,” she said. “It’s a gap that needs to be addressed.”

Reference

Mohr K. What’s indoor air quality like in long-term care facilities during wildfires? Worse than you’d think. KFF Health News. January 23, 2024. Accessed January 24, 2024. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/indoor-air-quality-nursing-homes-long-term-care-risks/