Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Nursing homes and African Americans ...latest COVID-19 problems


While the blockhead protesters argue over economy or death, the African Americans and those in nursing homes have no choice...

An ambulance driver outside a hospital in New York.

The choice is death, over which neither group has control. The former due to the "racial character of inequality in the United States," according to the New York Times. Here's their reasoning...
"black Americans are more likely to work in service sector jobs, least likely to own a car and least likely to own their homes. They are therefore more likely to be in close contact with other people, from the ways they travel to the kinds of work they do to the conditions in which they live."
For nursing homes, there are multiple reasons and they all, by agreement, combine to make the overall task of caring for these folks seem almost impossible. For one, they are crammed together, making social distancing futile, second, staffs are already strained and now "there are reports of staff abandoning facilities when covid-19 cases appear." Third, these facilities have had management problems for years, with improvement, but now that's all reversed.

Image result for nursing homes and coronavirus

There are so many more and I urge you to read this Washington Post article that outlines many of the problems with nursing homes in the coronavirus pandemic. At this point, if there are any of your family that you are considering placing in one of these facilities, you might want to think again. Here's the scenario...
"As awful as these stories are, the situation could still deteriorate further, from terrible to unimaginable. The age and fragile health of their residents are not nursing facilities’ only vulnerabilities. The industry is potentially facing a financial catastrophe that could prevent any meaningful attempt to beat back covid-19."
 African Americans higher rate of COVID-19...



And can we argue that the workplace hasn't and still isn't geared toward white Americans for higher paying jobs, thus, better able to pay more for improved healthcare? I think not. The NYT says, and once again I believe this article is well worth a read...
"If black Americans are more likely to suffer the comorbidities that make coronavirus more deadly, it’s because those ailments are tied to the segregation and concentrated poverty that still mark their communities."
Nursing homes have a business model you can read about in WP, and it isn't working since COVID-19 has turned it upside down, which could worsen even more and put additional liabilities in the way of caring for the sick. But here's the answer...
"To stay afloat, nursing homes must take enough high-revenue short-stay Medicare patients to offset the low-revenue long-stay Medicaid residents. Otherwise, they will go out of business."
For the black community, the answer is the same it has been for years, but totally ignored. STOP RACISM. Not simple, but doable, and the timing couldn't be better. 

Donald Trump Says He Will Be Indicted On Tuesday

  THAT'S TODAY... Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has brought the case to this point, now looking at a possible indictment. Trum...