109 – Interview: Nursing Homes & Other Long-Term Care During COVID Times

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Dr. Karl Steinberg, an expert in nursing home care and the President-Elect of the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. He has been a nursing home and hospice medical director in the San Diego area since 1995, and is currently the chief medical officer for Mariner Health Central, a 20-facility California nursing home management company. They discuss:

• The varied course of COVID illness among nursing home residents
• What older adults and families should know, to address COVID and advance care planning
• Steps that nursing homes are now taking, to reduce COVID risk and manage cases
• What we know about how COVID has affected other forms of long-term care, such as assisted-living
• How we might be able to keep nursing home residents engaged socially and physically, during COVID times
• Whether some facilities may eventually divide residents into those who prioritize isolation and those who are willing to tolerate slightly increased risks in order to benefit from more socialization and activities
• What safer “re-opening” might look like, in nursing homes
• Why it’s essential to get information from your county and state public health department

Related Resources:

• Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine
• CDC: Preparing for COVID-19 in Nursing Homes
• CMS: Medicare Nursing Home Reopening Recommendations for State and Local Officials
• AARP:
  • AARP Answers: Nursing Homes and the Coronavirus
  • Track COVID-19 Nursing Home Cases, Deaths in Your State
• Why the coronavirus has taken so many lives in US nursing homes
• How to Improve and Protect Nursing Homes From Outbreaks