Advocates Call for Long-Term Care Center Inspections to Resume

Long-term care centers and retirement homes are among the facilities where the spread of coronavirus can do the most damage. Residents are at high risk for COVID-19 complications and death due to their age and preexisting health conditions.

Advocates for people living in long-term care centers say the California Department of Public Health’s decision to stop sending inspectors to these facilities could increase risks for the center occupants, KPBS-TV reports.

Although the health department has temporarily halted all in-person, routine state and federal inspections of California’s 1,500 nursing homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the department is still investigating incidents at through virtual, audio, or electronic methods. However, representatives with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform believe this method isn’t thorough enough as residents are currently living under extreme isolation and family members are not allowed to visit to check on them. The advocates worry no one will detect life-threatening infection control problems, such as improper cleaning and understaffing.

Now is the time to remind staff cleaning long-term care centers that following strict cleaning protocols is more important than ever. Gain best practices for formulating a long-term care cleaning system, setting up a schedule, and assuring worker productivity.