American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living conducted a survey of 1,385 members from June 25 to 29 about the testing of long-term care residents and staff for covid-19. The results showed that the amount of time it is taking labs to process covid-19 tests of staff at nursing homes and assisted-living communities is becoming a major concern for providers.
Key findings include
- 56% of nursing homes and assisted-living communities said lab processing was the top barrier for access to testing.
- 87% of nursing homes and assisted-living communities said obtaining test results back from the lab companies is taking 2 days or longer. (63% said the turnaround time was 2 to 4 days, and 24% reported 5 days or more).
Mark Parkinson, American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.
“The amount of time it is taking to receive testing results is hurting the ability of long-term facilities to fight the virus,” says Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living. “Regular testing of nursing home and assisted living staff is a vital step in controlling the spread of covid-19, but is not effective without obtaining timely test results. For nursing homes and assisted living communities to protect residents and staff, we need on-site testing with reliable and rapid results. With a recent uptick in covid-19 cases among the general population, we are concerned labs will get overwhelmed and receiving results for long term care residents and staff will take even longer to obtain.”
Read more from AHCA/NCAL.
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