Lessons Learned in Preventing COVID-19 within a Skilled Nursing Facility during the Early Pandemic

Watts, Theresa; Tucker, Marilyn; Gray, Chelsey; Lee, Kim; Modina, Kaitlyn; Gray, Zachary

OBJECTIVE: Guided by the vulnerable population framework, the aim was to describe the risks and protective strategies for COVID-19 spread and infections in a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF). METHOD: We conducted a retrospective cohort (March 1st–August 31st, 2020) study. Data were collected from internal COVID-19 documents and resident electronic health records. Data were summarized and analyzed using descriptive statistics, relative risk calculations, and cases charted by week onset. RESULTS: There were 325 residents who lived in and 296 staff who worked at the SNF during the study period. There was a total of 2 confirmed cases among residents and 4 confirmed cases among staff. Cases were isolated and all were living at their baseline health status at the end of the study. CONCLUSION: Understanding the vulnerability to and protective strategies for COVID-19 within SNFs could strengthen resident care, resiliency among the SNF community, and improve health policies.