With the coronavirus still ravaging the state of Florida, it’s more important than ever that nursing home workers have the personal protective equipment (PPE) they need to keep their residents and themselves safe. It was difficult for nursing homes to provide PPE when COVID-19 first surfaced because of a nationwide shortage. But supplies have increased recently due to federal stimulus money allocated for long-term care facilities hit hard by the coronavirus as well as expedited production and donations. As a result, nursing homes that still are not providing enough of this vital equipment should be held accountable. Seniors and other residents in these facilities deserve to be protected from this disease which has already claimed more than 6,000 lives in Florida—about half of those deaths were nursing home residents and workers.
There are 13 nursing homes that have a poor track record of providing PPE for their staff. They are listed below.
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Among these facilities are four chronic offenders listed in the following graphic:
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest healthcare union in Florida, has filed more than 13 federal and state complaints against these and other long-term care facilities for their failure to provide adequate PPE and other offenses. Inspectors with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) have investigated these complaints but found no violations. This contradicts reports from caregivers who say they have had to use the same mask repeatedly for several days and in some cases up to two or three weeks because management had not distributed new PPE to them and their colleagues.
“Long-term care workers are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. They should not have to live in fear of getting exposed to this life-threatening virus and risk bringing it home to their families because of a lack of PPE,” said Margarette Nerette, Vice President at 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. ”We’re calling on AHCA Secretary Mary Mayhew to meet with workers to hear their stories and learn more about the challenges they face to keep themselves and residents safe.”
Several nursing homes have shown signs of improvements but remain on the list until they can demonstrate a consistent pattern of compliance.
It will take grass roots community support to ensure nursing homes are doing all they can to protect our loved ones in their care. Please sign our petition urging state officials to hold
