New AARP Analysis Shows Alarming Trends in North Dakota’s Efforts to Protect Nursing Home Residents during Coronavirus Pandemic

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A new month of data shows conditions in North Dakota nursing homes continued to deteriorate because of COVID-19.  

The latest release of the AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard continues to show alarming trends in North Dakota’s nursing homes for the four-week period ending Nov. 15.

The updated report shows North Dakota still ranks highest in both the number of resident and staff COVID infections.

“Coronavirus continues to sweep through our nursing homes with devastating results. The data continues to show that more needs to be done to shore up staffing and infection control in our nursing homes to protect residents and staff,” said Janelle Moos, advocacy director for AARP North Dakota.

Using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services – which is self-reported by nursing homes – the AARP Public Policy Institute, in collaboration with the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Ohio, created the AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard to provide four-week snapshots of the virus’ infiltration into nursing homes and impact on nursing home residents and staff.

The dashboard is specific to nursing homes and contains five key measures.

For the four-week period ending Nov. 15, AARP’s dashboard reports North Dakota nursing home resident deaths increased from 1.92 per 100 residents to 2.58 per 100 residents. That compares to a national average of 0.78.

North Dakota was the highest state for cases of COVID among residents at 74 percent. In the previous four-week period it was at 47.4 percent. The national average was 38.7 percent.

North Dakota also ranked first in nursing homes with confirmed staff cases of COVID at 97.3 percent, rising from 90.8 percent in the previous month. The U.S. average was 69.2 percent.

The state also reports staff shortages in nursing homes at 58.9 percent, compared to 55.3 percent in the previous month. The national average was 29.2 percent.

The fifth measure showed that 26 percent of nursing homes in the state reported having less than a week’s supply of personal protective equipment. That increased slightly from 24 percent in the previous four-wee period. The national average was 29.2 percent.

The AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard will continue to be updated every four weeks. The complete dashboard is available at aarp.org/nursinghomedashboard.