Nursing home residents live there because they are frail and often with major illnesses. As a result, they are more prone to infections than others, with worse outcomes. But don’t call them sitting ducks.
We all know that The New York Times has had an issue with the entire skilled nursing sector for many years. They just like to pick on it, and when there is a major problem, they pounce. Much like they did last year with the record HUD loan loss, and now this year with the pandemic.
But what really irritated me was the recent front-page headline which included, “Residents Are Sitting Ducks.” Now, this phrase did come from someone they interviewed, but the only thing the reader will remember is that you are a sitting duck if you live in a nursing facility today, during this pandemic. That is intentional. And it is not fair.
With more than 3,600 deaths in nursing facilities so far as a result of COVID-19, obviously people are concerned. The several cases where there have been more than a dozen deaths in one facility is alarming. But this pandemic spread so quickly and is so contagious with asymptomatic people spreading it around, whether family members, staff or delivery people, that we wonder whether the blame really should fall on the skilled nursing providers?
How do you engage in social distancing when most rooms are semi-private? Staff, nurses included, rarely used masks for day-to-day work six weeks ago, now it is mandatory. It is a new world. When you have 120 residents, plus at any given time more than 75 staff members on site, that represents anywhere from 200 to 250 square feet per person, sometimes less, and that includes hallways, bathrooms, offices and the kitchen. And with eight-foot hallways, forget about keeping six feet away. That compares with more than 1,600 square feet per person for the three of us here today. Think about it.
I think everyone was caught with their pants down on this one, some further down than others. But this pandemic is picking on the elderly, and the frail elderly in particular. So does the typical flu season, just not nearly to this extent. What is happening is certainly sad, but please do not call them “sitting ducks.” Have a little respect.
“Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” Warren Buffett
Steve, you’re right: it’s a terrible characterization and blaming the field that is working so hard — heroic even — to save lives is inappropriate at best. However, SNFs and Seniors Housing were not prepared for something like this, not even close. We’ve been naked to something of this scale and condition. Can’t happen next time. A more comprehensive plan for seen and unseen risks will be something operators and investors alike will have to evaluate on the other side.
Yes, no one could have been prepared for this. Look at hospitals, they certainly were not prepared, and all the news reports show that they are doing what they can under the difficult circumstances. I don’t see that same sympathy for senior care, just blame. Is anyone really ready for something like this? The problem is no one wants to spend the money to prepare for a once in a 100-year event. Look at New Orleans. Local government officials knew they would have big problems if a category 5 hurricane hit, so money was spent elsewhere, and the odds were so very low it would happen. Until it does. I think the problem with this virus is that it hit quickly before people really understood it, and really understood that there were a lot of people without symptoms spreading it around, including staff and family members. The other problem is that 10 years from now (or sooner) it will fade from most everyone’s memory, and then it will happen again…After all, what are the odds?
And i love the quote from Warren Buffett!
Greetings from north of Boston. I stayed awake in graduate school long enough to accumulate a masters and doctorate in Public Health, so cross species transmission of viruses is old news.. I’m moving quickly to enroll my guests in palliative and hospice programs, so I can provide additional care and comfort. Since it’s viral and not bacterial, antibiotics are not first line treatments. We’re not sitting ducks. The elderly are proof of the “survival of the fittest.” My guests have outlived 95-99% of the people born in the same year as they. Sitting ducks end up as pate.
John, great post, and people do forget that senior living residents are often 80 to 95, if not older, and have outlived most others. And yes, they are not sitting ducks.
Totally. It’s sad but often catastrophe has to strike for people to truly understand that it can. I’m hopeful that the perceived risks of pandemics (in a # of respects, this crisis could be far worse) will part of a new normal at least in so far as stimulating proper planning or at least a discussion of the trade-offs as to how far planning should go.
We can only hope, but people quickly forget.