GAO report on COVID-19 in nursing facilities
By Patti Cullen, CAE | March 24, 2023 | SNF/NF providers
On March 20, 2023, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) published
GAO-23-105613: “COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: Experts Identified Actions Aimed at Improving Infection Prevention and Control.”
GAO convened a panel of infectious disease specialists, nursing facility staff, advocates, and other experts to examine infection control practices in nursing facilities. These experts identified 14 actions for the Department of Health and Human Services to continue, enhance, or discontinue—some of which are consistent with their
prior recommendations, including developing solutions to ensure adequate staffing.
Many of the actions identified by GAO's expert roundtable are consistent with prior recommendations made to HHS to improve infection prevention and control. Specifically, reports from CMS's Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes, and the National Academies' Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes, as well as prior GAO reports, have examined infection prevention and control challenges in nursing homes and made similar recommendations.
HHS's continued leadership in prioritizing infection prevention and control—in coordination with other federal, state, and private entities—is critical to better protect nursing home residents from the enduring risks of declining health and premature death posed by infections. The actions identified by GAO's expert roundtable may, for example, assist HHS in addressing prior recommendations from GAO and others, presenting new solutions, or expanding on current efforts.
Patti Cullen, CAE | President/CEO |
pcullen@careproviders.org | 952-851-2487