Government Considering Rollbacks to Nursing Home Infection Control Requirements

Staff and residents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities nationwide have been among the populations hardest hit by COVID-19. So far, more than 16,000 long-term-care residents and staff have died of COVID-19 and almost 97,000 have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, according to a USA TODAY analysis of government data. These figures are most likely low because testing has been limited and many states have not released full data.

Many nursing homes already had infection control problems before the coronavirus pandemic. However, the federal government is still considering rolling back infection control requirements in U.S. nursing homes, USA Today reports.

A rule proposed last year by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would change the amount of time an infection preventionist must devote to a facility from at least part-time to “sufficient time,” an undefined term that lets the facility pick the amount of time. Although the regulation has not been finalized, last week CMS defended the proposal, saying it would reduce regulatory burden while strengthening infection control. CMS believes the rule change would allow facilities to determine for themselves the time needed for infection prevention and go above part-time when needed. 

Opponents of the change said the new standards could leave nursing home residents more vulnerable to infections. They point to the devastation COVID-19 has caused within long-term care facilities.

CMS acknowledges that infection is “the leading cause of morbidity and mortality” in the nation’s 15,600 nursing homes. According to the agency, 1.6 million to 3.8 million infections occur each year in those facilities, with almost 388,000 deaths attributed to infections.

Learn infection control best practices that can reduce the incidence of infections in long-term care and health care facilities.