As the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the long-term care industry particularly hard, with nursing home residents accounting for nearly 40 percent of virus related deaths in the U.S., the AARP staff recently spoke with experts to identify strategies that could ease the burden on the industry and improve resident care.
The recommendations were published in AARP Bulletin Jan. 13.
10 recommended goals and strategies to meet them:
Goal: Make environments healthier
1. Require more registered nurses.
2. Partner with hospitals.
3. Improve infection control.
4. Reduce isolation.
Goal: Reexamine business approaches
5. Address the funding
6. Revamp the staffing model.
7. Improve oversight and reporting.
8. Rethink ownership.
Goal: Reshape the industry.
9. Provide more care at home.
10. Create smaller nursing homes.