Long-term care virus statistics released

There have been no reported COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes, assisted living or multi-care facilities in far Southwest Virginia, according to state health department data.

The nearest reported outbreak has been in Galax.

Gov. Ralph Northam Friday announced new guidelines and testing requirements for reopening long-term care facilities. Also, Northam outlined how $246 million will be used to support such facilities’ response to the virus pandemic, according to a press release. Most of those dollars come from the federal CARES Act.

On May 18, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services outlined reopening criteria for nursing facilities. These criteria include a recommendation that all facilities conduct a baseline testing survey, and that facilities with outbreaks test residents and staff weekly. The Virginia Department of Health’s state-specific guidelines for nursing home reopening require licensed nursing homes, certified skilled nursing facilities and certified nursing facilities to conduct baseline and ongoing testing of all facility staff and residents while those facilities are in the first phase of the reopening process. Testing recommendations for latter phases of the reopening process are under development.

Of the $246 million, the majority of funding will go to nursing facilities, which receive Medicaid payments. More than $56 million is provided for periodic testing of nursing home residents and staff. During the reconvened session in April, Northam and the General Assembly agreed to increase Medicaid reimbursement to nursing homes by $20 per resident per day, to help support facilities.

This additional funding includes $152 million from the Provider Relief Fund that long-term care facilities have received for COVID-related expenses.

Assisted living facilities will receive $20 million in support, nearly doubling state funding for these facilities.

Baseline testing of long-term care residents and staff is underway and hopefully will be done by July 15.

Northam also announced that, given the changing nature of the pandemic in Virginia, he was directing VDH to release the names of individual long-term care facilities that have experienced a COVID-19 outbreak.

Facility-specific data can be found at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/health-professionals/virginia-long-term-care-task-force/.