Lessons from COVID-19 Outbreak in Michigan Nursing Homes
A recent study identified opportunities to improve pandemic preparedness among Michigan nursing homes, which were hard hit by COVID-19.
Representatives from 143 nursing homes responding in spring 2020 to a 43-question online survey said they had dealt with equipment shortages, conflicting information from a range of sources, testing difficulties, and staffing challenges.
Lessons learned in the early pandemic experience included the potential value of interventions such as:
- Improving information sharing between nursing homes and local health systems
- Employing full-time infection preventionists with decision-making authority
- Enhancing staffing ratios and retention by augmenting compensation and working to reduce leadership turnover
- Including nursing homes alongside hospitals in regional emergency preparedness planning
Access the study abstract safety and quality improvement tools in the COVID-19 Resources Catalog for Nursing Homes.