COVID-19 Pandemic Perspectives

Nursing Homes and Nursing Home Workers (Dylan Muntter)

Fact Check Source:
Peplinski Group, "COVID-19 UPDATE 3/30/20"


On 3/30/30, the Peplinski Group, in charge of state funded nursing home Ely Manor, sent this letter to the guardians of those residents in their care. It stated the precaustions they will be taking in attempt to avoid the spread of COVID-19 into the home, along with what will be done if it does spread into the home.


 


Looking Deeper: Five Facts Checked

This virus does not discriminate. It is afffecting young and old, male and female.

This is an important fact because it shows that everyone needs to do their part as no one is safe. This article by Vox proves that anyone can be infected.

Nurses train for these types of scenarios in nursing school, nursing assistants train for this is nurse aid school, and we, as healthcare providers, educate our team members in all departments as to key infection control and other policies on a regular basis.

This is important as if nurses are taught what to do in this situation, that can help their understanding of the severity of the situation. This article by Kaiser Permanente confirms the fact.

If a patient or resident tests positive for COVID-19, that individual will remain in the isolation area of the facility the entire time they are being treated for COVID-19.

This facts matter as it need to be determined if this is the best plan of action to treat someone who tests positive. This article by the Harvard Medical School confirms isolation is the best plan of action.

Due to state and federal privacy regulations applicable to patient medical information, we will not be able to communicate with anyone that is not listed as the patient representative.

This fact is important because it shows the privacy residents in nursing homes are allowed. This fact is confirmed here.

We will continue to use Facebook to share inspirational and upliftting stories taking place in our facilities. However, we will not be using Facebook to communicate updates on specific COVID-19 developments, nor will we be responding to posts asking questions or making comments about COVID-19. 

This fact matters to me because it shows that they will be respecting people privacy, along with continuing to offer inspiration. This is confirmed by the Ely Manor Facebook page.

 

Analytic Essay

Disregarded: How Nursing Homes and their Workers are Affected by COVID-19

One of the most overlooked perspectives in the COVID-19 pandemic is nursing homes and nursing home workers. It is well-known that elder populations are more at risk for contracting and dying from the virus, so nursing homes can and have become epicenters for the virus up to this point during the pandemic. This places nursing homes and their workers in a very difficult situation as they need to provide care to their residents while also trying to maintain all the safety standards being set in place. It also cannot be forgotten that the personal lives of many direct care workers can be ruined by this virus if residents or other workers in their home contract the virus. The viewpoint of direct care workers in this pandemic has been mostly in a bad light as news of outbreaks in nursing homes has lead to conversations about proper precautions taken in those homes to ensure the safety of the residents. However, it is not as easy as it may seem to someone on the outside as being able to balance protecting and caring for the residents is very difficult.

When asked what nursing home workers value the most in terms of providing the care they talked about the happiness, cleanliness, and comfort of their residents (Chung, 2013). They strive to make their resident’s lives as easy as they can by providing them with the best possible care. Those that nursing homes intend to inform are either the residents living in their homes, along with the families of the residents, and staff.

They reach these parties through letters sent via mail, as my family has received multiple updates about the COVID-19 from my grandmother’s nursing home. The letter detailed the best health practices as well as precautions they have taken to avoid the spread of the virus into their facilities. In addition, the letter also addressed what steps would be taken in case the virus were to spread into the home (Peplinski Group, 2020).  

The facts of this pandemic matter to everyone affected by it, especially nursing home workers. Of the list of facts to address concerns, the first that many workers have is their safety along with the availability of PPE. The ability to obtain more PPE in many homes has become increasingly difficult due to the pandemic, which leads to more concerns (Cott, 2020). This lack of PPE has led to an increased chance of being infected by the virus which means the nursing home workers cannot go to work. However, most nursing home workers cannot afford to miss work as they work week to week due to such low pay. Workers want to know what will be done to help them financially at this time, both in terms of pay and unemployment (Waltmire, 2020). 

A care worker’s place in this epidemic is very underappreciated and they play an extremely important role in society. Their skills of caring for the elderly and keeping them happy, clean, and comfortable are only able to be practiced through direct contact with the residents in their homes. Without the care they provide, much of the elder population would struggle to survive, being forced to live with family members who don’t have the training to take care of them.

The care workers are mainly concerned with how the nursing homes, along with state and national guidelines will change how they go about their jobs. It is very hard to care for their residents with the guidelines put in place even if those guidelines are to keep the residents safe (Waltmire, 2020). Taking away all the other care that they provide can also be detrimental to the health and happiness of those living in the homes.

Nursing homes have to trust the state as they determine what they do going forward, however, they do not trust that they will make the right decision. They tell the workers to stay home from work if they feel sick, but don’t offer a way for the workers to feed their families when they do miss work, which leads to the workers continuing to work, even when ill (Cott, 2020).

This leads directly to why this perspective needs to be included on the website, as it covers one of the least talked about, but the most important perspective of the virus pandemic. Nursing homes have been ground zero for the virus in many states, giving a bad rap to nursing homes in general during this time. Many nursing homes, however, are still virus-free or making attempts to counteract the virus as to limit the spread and keep their residents safe.

References

Chung, G. (2013). Understand Nursing Home Workers Conceptualizations about Good Care. The Gerontologist, 53(2), 246-254. https://academic-oup-com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/gerontologist/article/53/2/246/563440

The author, Gawon Chung, works in the department of social welfare at the University of California at LA. This allows him to better understand the perspective on how the external and internal factors of working in nursing homes influence the workers idea of providing good care for their residents. He conducted 60-90-minute interviews with direct care with the qualifications listen in the article, where he asked open ended questions about what they do and more into how they went at what they do. He used the interviews to conceptualize the idea of good care as desirable outcomes of residents in the homes being clean, happy, and comfortable. The key ideas are the different way good care is broken up: cleanliness, happiness, and comfort. The author breaks down what his interviews concluded about these 3 areas and why they are the basis for "good care" in nursing homes. The evidence is from the claims made by the workers who do the work every day in order to satisfy their residents they care for. This article shows how a direct care worker really needs to work to do an adequate job to satisfy whomever they are caring for. This can be read in conflict with guidelines and other precautions workers are being told to take in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and how it is almost impossible to ensure the safety of the residents while also giving real 100% care to them.


Costa, H. (2020, April 8). Pandemic-readiness training for LVNs/ LPNs for COVID-19 surge. Kaiser Permanente. https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/our-story/news/announcements/pandemic-readiness-training-for-lvns-lpns-for-covid-19-surge


Cott, E., Laffin, B., and Khadra E. (2020, March 3). Low Pay, High Risk: Nursing Home Workers Confront Coronavirus Dilemma [Video]. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000007046988/nursing-home-coronavirus.html

This is a primary perspective source from the New York Times that interviews actual direct care workers to see what they go through on a daily basis in this time of crisis. The main argument of this source is there is more than what meets the eye when it comes to the coronavirus and nursing homes. Most people outside the system don't realize how hard it is being a worker in these nursing homes, both doing the actual job and living outside of their job. The workers are doing what they can to avoid the spread of the virus, but it is truly impossible to be 100% safe when the workers have to work around their still continuing lives. Most direct care workers work multiple nursing home jobs as the pay is too low to live if they only work one. This can lead to the possible spread of the virus even when the workers try to take precautions. The source is direct interviews with nursing home workers and what they go through both in their daily workdays, but also their days outside of work and how the virus has affected them in both areas in a way that has put them in a very tough spot.


Marshall, M. (2020, March). If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/if-youve-been-exposed-to-the-coronavirus


National Consumer Voice. (2020). Residents’ Rights. National Consumer Voice. https://ltcombudsman.org/issues/residents-rights


Peplinski Group. (n.d). Home. [Facebook Page]. Facebook. Retrieved April 23, 2020 from https://www.facebook.com/elymanor/


Peplinski Group. (2020, March 3). Allegan, Michigan.

This is a primary perspective source sent in the mail to my family from the care facility where my grandmother lives. It was sent inform the families, staff, and residents what precautions are being taken to avoid infection of the residents and staff of their facility, and what will happen if there is anyone that appears to show symptoms or test positive for the virus. The key ideas of the letter are Ely Manor is taking all the necessary precautions to limit avoid the spread of the virus into their facility and has a plan in place for what will happen if the virus does get into the facility. It also addresses visiting the facility and how news and updates will be given out to families in forms of Facebook updates about non-virus-related topics and direct communication with families/representatives if the need arises. It is a letter from the perspective I am looking to address about what they are doing about the virus. I don't think it can get any better as it meant to inform my family about what they, as a nursing home and care workers, are doing in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Scott, D. (2020, March 13). The COVID-19 risks for different age groups, explained. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/3/23/21190033/coronavirus-covid-19-deaths-by-age

Waltmire, N. (2020, March 19). COVID-19 & Short-Staffing: The Chicago Tribune Interviews Nursing Home Leader Francine Rico. SEIC HCII. https://seiuhcilin.org/2020/03/covid-19-short-staffing-the-chicago-tribune-interviews-nursing-home-leader-francine-rico/

This is a perspective source with an interview from a direct care worker working in Illinois. The article the source was found in comes from a website for a union that supports healthcare, childcare, home care and nursing home workers in some Midwest states. It gives insight from a direct care worker who gives reasonings for why working in nursing homes during the COVID-19 crisis is so hard. The main argument of the source is that nursing home workers simply cannot follow all the guidelines being set to them with the number of residents they are responsible to care for. Most workers also cannot follow some guidelines set in place such as not working when sick as their low wages don't allow them days off as they can't afford to live without working. The whole nursing care system is already very flawed and if anything, the COVID-19 outbreak has brought that to a greater light. It gives the hardships care workers are facing along with reasoning for why it's so hard to follow the strict guidelines being put in place by people who aren't doing the actual work in the nursing homes. It also provides a financial perspective from the worker explaining why many still may work even if they don't feel 100% healthy.

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