Trump administration loosened rules for nursing home hiring after 1st coronavirus outbreak


The first COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. led to a big rule change that may have just made nursing homes' coronavirus problem even worse.
After 47 residents and workers were infected with COVID-19 and 37 died, the Life Care Center outbreak in Washington made it clear nursing home practices needed to change to prevent another disaster. Instead, the Trump administration drastically reduced the requirements for becoming a caregiver, making it possible to become a qualified nurse's aide in about the same time it takes to watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy, Politico reports.
Typical requirements mandate nurse's aides go through at least 75 hours of training to be qualified for their jobs. The industry had long sought to upend that rule because it made it harder to fill critical jobs. So not long after the Kirkland outbreak, the Trump administration suspended the 75-hour requirement, and the nursing aide industry debuted a free online training program that allowed anyone to become a "temporary nurse aide." The course is supposed to take eight hours, but a Politico reporter was able to complete its final exam in 40 minutes by searching for its answers online.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defended the temporary nurse's aide program, saying those workers will have to do 75 hours of training once the pandemic ends. But advocates for the elderly say it only filled the caregiver industry with inexperienced workers who didn't understand cleaning and disinfecting processes, infection control, and the importance of PPE, Politico reports.
As of mid-June, nursing homes counted for an estimated 40 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. — at least 55,000 residents and workers have died of the virus so far. Read more at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Why the world is going mad about Taylor Swift's wedding
The pop star unveiled diamond ring in cosy snaps with fiancé Travis Kelce earlier this week
-
Hostage: Netflix's 'fun, fast and brash potboiler'
The Week Recommends Suranne Jones is 'relentlessly defiant' as prime minister Abigail Dalton
-
France political crisis: what does Bayrou's gamble mean for Macron?
The French president could see his authority damaged beyond repair should another of his governments fail
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
Trump arms National Guard in DC, threatens other cities
speed read His next targets are Chicago, New York and Baltimore
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material