A newly introduced bipartisan bill would require assisted living communities and nursing homes to have crisis plans in place to manage disease outbreaks, maintain personal protective equipment stockpiles for residents and staff members and maintain communication with families.
The federal Nursing Home Pandemic Protection Act, introduced Wednesday by US Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and co-sponsored by Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Rep. Brian Fitpatrick (R-PA), is touted by the lawmakers as a way to ensure that assisted living communities and skilled nursing and nursing facilities “are adequately prepared” for public health emergencies and disease outbreaks.
“Assisted living facilities across the nation were gravely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a result, so were our senior citizens,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “Seniors are among the most vulnerable populations, and it is our duty to ensure that assisted living communities are prepared for emergencies like COViD-19 in the future so that they can keep their doors open and care for our elderly.”
According to the bill, crisis plans would be required to include an outline of procedures relating to infection control, staffing, personal protective equipment, outside medical providers and hospitalizations, and communication with family members.
Providers also would be required to maintain at least a 30-day supply of PPE on hand to respond to an outbreak. And they would need to outline how they would communicate with family members during outbreaks and public health emergencies.
Sherrill called it “common-sense legislation” to ensure that crisis planning and comprehensive reporting measures are in place at long-term care facilities for future emergencies, and he said that understanding where improvements are needed is critical to ensuring that facilities have the resources they need to protect residents and staff members.
A spokeswoman for the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living said it will monitor the bill as it moves through the legislative process.
“We support efforts to ensure long term care providers are a priority for support in all types of emergencies,” AHCA/NCAL said.
