Audit provides information on state’s response to COVID-19 in nursing facilities

A recent audit, conducted by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, found nursing facilities in the state experienced issues of staffing shortages, lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing supplies, restrictions on visitation and state oversight activities, and decreased revenues due to COVID-19, according to the report released Monday, May 3.
The audit, according to the report, was conducted because data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest nursing facility populations are at a high risk of being affected by respiratory pathogens due to their congregate nature and because the population served includes older adults who often have underlying, chronic medical conditions.
The audit found staffing issues because of the pandemic led to 148 of 277 nursing facilities reporting a shortage of nursing staff at some point between May 2020 and December 2020. As a result, Governor John Bel Edwards issued an executive order allowing nurses with out of state licenses to practice in Louisiana. The order also provided hazard pay, subsidized childcare for workers, and created a Website to link facilities with qualified applicants to fill positions left vacant.
The audit also found nursing facilities lacked PPE at the beginning of the pandemic. In response, Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) provided necessary protection equipment and deployed strike teams to administer tests and transport specimens for testing.
LDH and GOHSEP, between March 2020 and December 24, 2020, provided 927,416 gowns, 841,948 surgical masks, 762,870 nitrile gloves, and 701,666 N95 masks.
The audit also found, according to the report, LDH required nursing facilities to restrict entry of all visitors and non-essential healthcare personnel, including family members and some state oversight agencies, beginning in March 2020 to control the spread of COVID-19. But, this move limited visibility and may have decreased oversight of the quality of care provided to residents.
The report stated the audit also found there was decreased revenue at nursing facilities because of declining censuses as a result of deaths and lower admissions due to COVID-19. Because of this, state and federal sources provided funding and resources to help offset lost revenues and to help with the costs that came with additional expenses such as purchasing PPE.
The full report and management’s response can be found at www.lla.la.gov.
Attached to the full report is an appendix showing nursing facility data from each facility in the state.
According to the information, the nursing facility census, resident and staff cases, and resident deaths are based on self-reported COVID-19 information submitted by nursing facilities to LDH between March 28, 2020, and February 28, 2021, and thus may be incomplete. Census shows the first resident count reported by the nursing facility to LDH between March 28, 2020, and May 27, 2020, depending on when the nursing facility registered to begin reporting COVID-19 cases and deaths to LDH. Total resident cases include all individuals who resided at the nursing facility during the course of their infection, including those who recovered, died, or moved out of the nursing facility. Locally-acquired resident cases include only the number of infections that began while at the nursing facility, as some facilities are actively accepting COVID-19 positive individuals from other facilities. Total resident deaths includes duplicates because each death was reported by every nursing facility where the resident resided while infected.
The following is data for nursing facilities in Evangeline Parish.
Basile Care Center: 57 census, 37 total cases, 33 locally acquired cases, eight total deaths, and 37 total staff cases.
Savoy Care Center: 63 census, 37 total cases, 37 locally acquired cases, two total deaths, and 28 total staff cases.
Prairie Manor: 86 census, 73 total cases, 72 locally acquired cases, five total deaths, and 78 total staff cases.
Heritage Manor: 119 census, 85 total cases, 82 locally acquired cases, 18 total deaths, and 76 total staff cases.