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Nursing homes hit by COVID deaths, Vermont 19th lowest

Submitted by tim on

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is 19th lowest in mortality rate from COVID-19 in nursing homes in the US, according to AARP. Three New England states (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts) have even lower rates. Midwest and Upper Midwest states have the highest death rates. Vermont otherwise has the fewest deaths from COVID-19 overall in the nation and the fewest total cases.

In most of the metrics provided by AARP, Vermont was also better than the US average in total nursing home resident and staff cases and total staffing, but worse for having a one-week supply of PPE (see tables below).

The COVID-19 pandemic has swept the nation, killing more than 136,000 residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. The AARP Public Policy Institute, in collaboration with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Ohio, created the AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard to provide four-week snapshots of the virus’ infiltration into nursing homes and impact on nursing home residents and staff, with the goal of identifying specific areas of concern at the national and state levels in a timely manner.

This dashboard (see Vermont specific information below) looks at five categories of impact and will be updated every month to track trends over time.

Dashboard data and state fact sheets with 33 additional data points providing more information about each category, can be downloaded here.

*Due to inconsistent data, the percentage of nursing homes with PPE shortages are not reported for Maryland in the most recent Dashboard.

Vermont Department of Health

ACTIVE OUTBREAKS IN LONG TERM CARE FACILITIES - JANUARY 11, 2021

These counts are cumulative counts of all staff and resident cases that occurred in long-term care facilities during their outbreak as of the date above; they do not reflect counts of people with an active COVID-19 infection.

January 12 UPDATE
There is now a row for every facility with an active outbreak. In order to protect people’s privacy, a facility name or case count may not be shown. We follow these rules:

  • When a facility has less than 25 residents and staff, the name of the facility is not shown. It is listed as Long Term Care Facility A, B, C, for example, instead.
  • When the case counts are less than 6, or when more than 75% of the facility is affected, case counts are not shown.

This information is updated on Tuesdays and Fridays.

FACILITY NAME CUMULATIVE COVID-19 CASES
Residence at Quarry Hill 12
St. Albans Healthcare & Rehab Center 89
Elderwood at Burlington 126
Converse Home Assisted Living 17
Long Term Care Facility A Not shown
Our Lady of Providence Residential Care Community 49
Craftsbury Community Care Center 29
Long Term Care Facility B Not shown
Long Term Care Facility C Not shown
Holton Home 12
The Residence at Shelburne Bay 32
Davis Home 6
Holiday House 22
Cathedral Square 7
Vermont Veterans Home 8

Federal Vaccine Pharmacy Partnerships

Vermont will participate in the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-term Care (LTC) Program(link is external) coordinated by CDC. Vermont's Pharmacy Partners are CVS, Walgreens, and HealthDirect/Kinney Drugs. These pharmacies will provide on-site vaccination clinics for residents and staff of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. More information on the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine can be found in the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)(link is external). The CDC has defined LTCF’s as skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, continuing care residential communities, residential care communities/adult family homes, including HUD 202 low-income senior housing, intermediate care facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities, or state-run veterans' homes. Enrollment with this program is closed.

COVID-19 vaccination will begin at skilled nursing facilities on December 21. Vaccination for all other LTCFs enrolled in the federal program is scheduled to begin mid to late January, but is dependent on vaccine allocations.

The pharmacy will:

  • Schedule and coordinate on-site clinics directly with each facility. Pharmacies will likely take schedule three clinics to administer both vaccine doses and vaccinate new residents and staff.

  • Order vaccines and associated supplies (e.g., syringes, needles, personal protective equipment).

  • Ensure cold chain management for vaccine.

  • Provide on-site administration of vaccine.

  • Adhere to all applicable CMS requirements for COVID-19 testing for LTCF staff.

These clinics are free to both staff and residents. Pharmacy partners may ask for insurance information to seek reimbursement for the administration of the vaccine, but if someone is uninsured vaccine will still be supplied at no charge.

After the initial phase of vaccinations, the facility can choose to continue working with the pharmacy that provided its on-site clinics or work with a pharmacy provider of its choice. Facilities that are ineligible for this program, or that missed the window for enrollment, are encouraged to work with existing or local pharmacies to arrange on-site clinics if desired.

If you are an enrolled facility and have questions about these clinics, please reach out to your pharmacy partner.

CVS

HealthDirect/Kinney

Walgreens

GUIDANCE

Visitors

Facilities may offer visitation with residents. Check with the facility before planning a visit. Visitors should be screened before entry. Visitors' movements and interactions with people in the facility should be limited. Medically necessary personnel and visitors for residents receiving end-of-life care are allowed inside.

Source: AARP 1.14.2021; Vermont Department of Health 1.12.2021 https://www.healthvermont.gov/covid-19/health-care-professionals/long-te...