‘Protected Them To Death’: Elder-Care COVID Rules Under Fire
The impact of COVID-19 regulatory restrictions on the lives of nursing home residents and their families in three states. Among those interviewed are workgroup members Liz Weingast and Karen Lipson, public health experts, and several nursing home residents and family members.
“We don’t know how much longer she’s going to be alive,” Christine Colucci said, “so it’s like, please, give us this last chance with her in her final months on this earth to have that interaction.”
Nursing homes in the U.S., with over 650,000 residents infected and 130,000 lives lost due to the virus, had a responsibility to implement precautions during the peak of COVID-19, according to Nancy Kass, a public health expert from Johns Hopkins University. However, Kass expresses bewilderment at the ongoing prioritization of safety measures at the potential cost of residents' quality of life.
