AARP Releases New Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard for State, National Comparison

AARP Oklahoma released a powerful new tool for citizens, state agencies, and elected officials called the AARP COVID-19 Nursing Home Dashboard, www.aarp.org/nursinghomedashboard. The AARP Nursing Home Dashboard tracks and compares Oklahoma’s response to the COVID-19 crisis in nursing homes to other state and national reports. The AARP Nursing Home Dashboard will be updated every four weeks. 

The AARP Nursing Home Dashboard analyzes federally reported data in four-week periods beginning June 1, 2020, when nationally comparable data became available. The dashboard also provides data on staff shortages, PPE shortages, staff cases, resident cases and resident deaths, and the ability to compare data across states, across regions or to the national average. 

The latest data analysis highlights the four-week period from October 19 to November 15, 2020. The dashboard reports the following findings in Oklahoma nursing homes;

• 9.9 new COVID-19 cases per 100 nursing home residents, an increase of 4.9 cases per 100 nursing home residents from the previous four-week period.
  
• 43 percent of nursing homes with staffing shortages increase .4 percent from the previous four-week period. 
  
• 8.7 new staff COVID-19 cases per 100 nursing home residents, an increase of 4.4 staff cases per 100 nursing home residents from the previous four-week period.
  
• 1.39 COVID-19 deaths per 100 nursing home residents, an increase of 0.8 cases per 100 nursing home residents from the previous four-week period.

AARP Oklahoma believes this data can help state lawmakers and health officials make informed decisions. “We hope that we can use these tools to not only stem the current crisis but also begin the long-overdue process of reimaging long-term care in Oklahoma,” said AARP Oklahoma State Director Sean Voskuhl. “Oklahoma has the opportunity to take advantage of many programs offered by the federal government both in response to COVID-19 and beyond. Taking advantage of these programs can provide relief to current nursing home residents and begin the process of implementing care that is more resident-focused.” 

AARP Oklahoma is suggesting that Oklahoma’s officials consider taking the following action based on the dashboard data:

1. Take full advantage of current federal programs, such as Money Follows the Person, to encourage better utilization of home and community-based services. Money Follows the Person is a federal program administered by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority. This program assists individuals seeking to return home from a nursing facility to receive care.  
2. Explore implementing Indiana’s successful waiver to discharge seniors from the hospital directly to home health. Doing so bypasses costly stays in nursing homes while the individual awaits approval to receive home and community-based services.  
3. Create robust auditing requirements to ensure taxpayer funds given to nursing homes to combat COVID-19 is being used for the health and safety of residents and staff.
4. Strengthen the Oklahoma State Department of Health’s ability to enforce infection control rules and laws. 
5. Encourage nursing homes that receive taxpayer funding to reimagine care delivery systems and adopt a model that mimics residential settings and provides consistent staffing.

“Oklahoma has been a bottom 10 state in senior care for far too long. COVID-19 has tragically underscored the need for true transformation,” said AARP Oklahoma State Volunteer President Joe Ann Vermillion. “We expect that all seniors entering a nursing facility should receive quality care and reside in a safe environment. Let us learn from this data tool and make the changes necessary to ensure that our loved ones are cared for in a safe, dignified and humane manner.”