HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — The federal government released new data Thursday on the impact of coronavirus in nursing homes across the United States.
The data is now posted to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Nursing Home Compare website.
The data provides general information about how COVID-19 has impacted nursing homes, as well as information broken down by state. The public is now able to search the database by nursing home facility name to find out how many residents and staff have been infected by COVID-19.
10 On Your Side is analyzing the data for COVID-19 in Virginia’s nursing homes. Look for coverage of what the extensive data reveals, coming up Friday on WAVY News 10.
- More information on CMS requirements for reporting COVID-19 information can be found here.
Our preliminary data analysis has identified nursing homes in Hampton Roads that have reported large total numbers of COVID-19 cases in staff and residents. Total numbers represent all cases, confirmed or suspected, that have been identified in a nursing home since Jan. 1. These numbers are not representative of the number of COVID-19 cases a nursing home has on a specific date, but over the entirety of the pandemic, according to the data.
10 On Your Side’s preliminary data analysis is based on total numbers reported to CMS.
Bon Secours Maryview Nursing Care Center in Suffolk reported a total of 68 confirmed COVID-19 positive residents in Hampton Roads. The nursing home also reported a total of 56 residents suspected of having COVID-19, and that 11 Bon Secours Maryview Nursing Care Center residents have died from the illness.
A total of 37 staff members were also reported as COVID-19 positive, and an additional 13 staff members are reported as suspected of having the illness, according to the data.
Not all cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes are confirmed — many are labeled as suspected.
James River Convalescent & Rehabilitation Center reported a high total number of suspected COVID-19 cases in residents at 114; however, the nursing home reported only having three confirmed cases in residents. The nursing home reported a high number of suspected COVID-19 cases in staff at 79. The nursing home reported one confirmed case of the illness in staff.
Nursing homes were required to begin reporting COVID-19 cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 1. This requirement only applied to long-term care facilities, which are regulated by CMS. The database does not include information about COVID-19 in assisted living facilities because they are not federally regulated, the news release states.
The new database sheds light on how coronavirus has impacted nursing homes in the commonwealth, where nearly 57% of COVID-19 deaths have happened in long-term care facilities, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
VDH has not released the names of nursing home facilities that are battling coronavirus infections, but the agency has released data that shows that 217 of the 375 COVID-19 outbreaks in Virginia have happened in long-term care facilities. These outbreaks represent 5,041 coronavirus cases and 811 — nearly 57% — COVID-19 deaths in the commonwealth as of June 3.
About 80% of the 15,4000 Medicare and Medicaid nursing homes in the United States have reported the required data to the CDC. Preliminary analysis of the data shows that nursing homes have reported more than 60,000 COVID-19 cases and nearly 26,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to the news release.
CMS also found that about one in four nursing homes reported at least one COVID-19 case and about one in five reported at least one COVID-19 death. Facilities were more likely to have large numbers of COVID-19 cases if they had a one-star quality rating than if they had a five-star quality rating, according to CMS.
CMS plans to take enforcement actions against nursing homes that haven’t reported data to the CDC and to increase penalties for nursing homes that are not compliant with infection control guidelines.
Correction: Upon further data analysis, 10 On Your Side realized that some nursing homes have been entered multiple times into CMS’ database. The numbers for those nursing homes appeared higher because the data was being counted twice in the analysis. These numbers have been corrected.