Department of Public Health Provides Update on COVID-19 Nursing Home Impacts

The Department of Public Health held a media conference call to provide an update on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to our state's nursing homes.

The latest information on the number of cases and number of nursing homes impacted was expected to be provided Thursday afternoon, however, the department said some data issues caused a delay. That information is now expected to be provided Friday afternoon.

When a concern is raised to the Department of Public Health about a nursing home's access to personal protective equipment (PPE), staff from the department will make calls to the home's administrators.

'We are following up on all of those complaints and issues," said Barbara Cass from the department.

If a complaint comes to the department about a nursing home hoarding PPE, then the department will call the nursing home via FaceTime and ask them to walk through the nursing home and show the supply and how it's distributed, Cass said.

NBC Connecticut has been following the challenges of nursing homes for weeks, including their struggles to get PPE and staff.

Cass said that depsite complaints, the department has not found any buildings so far that had inadequate staffing.

Nationwide, more than 11,000 deaths have been reported at nursing homes. New York has mandated testing for all residents and staff of nursing homes.

During the media conference call, Cass said she could not speak to questions regarding the reporting of deaths at the state's nursing homes deferring that to a different section within the Department of Public Health.

Under a recent Connecticut executive order, assisted-living facilities must now report their latest information to the state, including census, staffing, bed capacity and access to personal protective information.