The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to put comprehensive measures in place that would strengthen protections for skilled nursing home residents and staff at their Tuesday meeting.

These residents and workers have been found to be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, according to a release from Second District Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

“We cannot underestimate the risk that COVID-19 poses to skilled nursing home residents, given their age, physical condition and health status,” said Ridley-Thomas. “We must also take comprehensive precautions to protect the heroic caregivers who work in these settings and then go home to their families.”

As of Tuesday, 425 residents of institutional settings, such as skilled nursing homes, in L.A. County have died of COVID-19, accounting for approximately 45 percent of the county’s death toll from the pandemic, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

“We share Supervisor Ridley-Thomas’ concern for this vulnerable population, which is being disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” said L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. “We appreciate the board’s efforts to put measures in place ensuring that essential staff at skilled nursing facilities are properly trained and equipped with the protective equipment they need to remain safe, and support residents who are in great need of continued care.”

The motion calls for County officials to work with Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health (DPH) to consider the implementation of several orders, guidelines and requirements, including:

• Facilitating expeditious testing for all staff and residents as quickly as possible;
• Issuing standard protocols for skilled nursing homes to follow when they have a positive case of COVID-19;
• Requiring adequate staff-to-patient ratios, as well as a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and proper training on COVID-19;
• Banning retaliation against staff for working at multiple facilities, for advocating for PPEs as a condition of going to work and for refusing to go to work;
• Expediting pending licenses for certified nursing assistants;
• Providing staff with additional pay, including overtime, until the COVID-19 crisis is over, as well as additional paid sick leave days so they can care for themselves or family members who may be infected;
• Paying staff an enhanced rate if they care for residents who have tested positive for COVID-19; and
• Requiring skilled nursing homes to readmit patients once they are no longer sick, and keep them when they are mildly or moderately ill but do not require hospitalization to avoid overwhelming hospitals.

These steps would be in addition to those put in place by a recent health order from DPH, which put several protective measures in place in licensed congregate healthcare facilities such as skilled nursing homes, including:

• Restricting access to such facilities;
• Requiring diagnostic testing, symptom screenings and temperature checks for staff and residents;
• Banning visitors and suspending communal dining and other activities;
• Requiring staff to wear masks and PPEs and follow infection control guidelines;
• Preventing staff from returning to the facilities if they have tested positive for COVID-19 or are symptomatic;
• Avoiding, as much as possible, the use of staff who concurrently work at a similar facility.

The full agenda for the Tuesday meeting of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is available here.

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