The federal agency that oversees assisted living home announced new openness procedures Sunday needing the disclosure of coronavirus cases to patients’ families and public health authorities.
Speaking at a White House rundown, Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Solutions, called the new policies “crucial” and stated they will support a nationwide effort to track the infection and slow its spread.
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” As we reopen the United States, our surveillance effort around the infection will start in assisted living home,” Verma stated.
It wasn’t clear when the new reporting system would work. In a memo Sunday, the agency stated it would be put into location “very soon.”
Among the new policies advises retirement home to report cases straight to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention so the federal government can begin gathering data on COVID-19 cases and deaths in retirement home.
A 2nd procedure tells the houses to “notify citizens, their families and agents of COVID-19 cases in their centers,” the firm stated.
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The two policy changes can be found in the wake of reporting by NBC News that families with enjoyed ones in nursing homes complain that they are “in the dark” about COVID-19 cases in long-lasting care facilities. The houses have actually likewise dealt with criticism from Democratic lawmakers and public health professionals who have said the federal government needs to have been tracking COVID-19 cases from the start of the outbreak.
Laura Strickler
Laura Strickler is an investigative manufacturer in the NBC News Investigative Unit based in Washington.
Tim Stelloh
Tim Stelloh is a reporter for NBC News, based in California.
Kelly O’Donnell
contributed.
