Even after the United States' first reported coronavirus outbreak occurred at a Life Care Center nursing home in Kirland, Washington, nine of the chain's homes violated federal standards aimed at curbing infections, inspection reports obtained by The Washington Post show.
Government inspectors at the federal and state level reportedly discovered that some employees at the facilities did not wash their hands, sanitize equipment, or enforce social distancing guidelines.
At one home in Denver, staffers left an isolation door open, which allowed a COVID-19 patient to walk out of the room without a mask and sit next to two healthy residents. And in Kansas, a nursing home's infection control log did not include two patients with fevers, which the inspector said "had the potential to affect all 52 residents" in the facility.
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Life Care has said no amount of preparation could have stopped the virus' spread, and several caregivers told The Post they were overwhelmed during the crisis, which contributed to the lack of hygiene in some cases. One nursing aide, for example, said she found herself caring for 30 patients at once.
The Post notes there's no comprehensive data available to determine whether the rate of COVID-19 infections or deaths is higher at Life Care than other long-term care chains. Read more at The Washington Post.
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