'We have to change': call to overhaul nursing homes post-pandemic, as first facility in 20 years opens in Manhattan

Record ID: 1626904

  • Title: 'We have to change': call to overhaul nursing homes post-pandemic, as first facility in 20 years opens in Manhattan
  • Date: 15th July 2021
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FILE - JUNE 3, 2021) (REUTERS) MAN PUSHING UV LIGHT MACHINE VARIOUS OF UV LIGHT MACHINE IN ROOM VARIOUS VENTILATION GRATES IN ROOMS (UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION) (FILE - JUNE 2021) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) GREGORY SMITH, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF MAPLEWOOD SENIOR LIVING AND INSPIR, SAYING: "With COVID, we ended up adding additional filtration systems - UV lighting that would kill the virus. We added air ionization strategies throughout the building with our mechanical engineers. It probably cost us around another one million dollars or so."
  • Embargoed: 29th July 2021 16:52
  • Keywords: COVID-19 aged care nursing homes senior citizens
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health/Medicine,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA001ELYB493
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:When the coronavirus started spreading in the U.S., senior citizens in aged care facilities were among the hardest hit. Nursing homes went into hard lockdown and residents were suddenly cut off from all visitors. But it wasn't enough to stop COVID-19.
    A cluster was reported at a senior care facility in Washington state in February 2020. According to AARP, a group representing seniors, as of June 10 this year, more than 184,000 residents and staff at U.S. nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have been killed by the virus.
    Susan Reinhard, Senior Vice President and Director of AARP Public Policy Institute, told Reuters it was unacceptable.
    "It's a national disgrace what happened, a national disgrace. And as a country and as a world, we have to address this. We cannot have people so isolated in institutions that they are so vulnerable and then we cut them off from their families. It's not tenable for the future. We have to change."
    In a post pandemic-era, Reinhard recommends better pay for staff, so they do not have to work at multiple facilities, thereby increasing the risk of infection.
    "We need long term care transformation. We need more choices. We need more ability to have care at home. We need nursing homes that have more private rooms, as opposed to even three or four in a room. We need to be able to pay the staff a living wage and make sure that they can work in one nursing home and not have to jump from two or three different nursing homes to make a living."
    The pandemic also highlighted the shortage of nursing homes across the country. Experts predict that by 2050, there will be 15 million seniors needing long-term care in the United States.
    A new facility has just opened in Manhattan. It's the first on the island in 20 years and it features state-of-the-art technology to protect residents and staff from COVID-19 and other viruses.
    "With COVID, we ended up adding additional filtration systems - UV lighting that would kill the virus," said Gregory Smith, CEO and President of Maplewood Senior Living and Inspir. "We added air ionization strategies throughout the building with our mechanical engineers. It probably cost us around another one million dollars or so."
    Historically, seniors moved to the suburbs to seek care, but Smith says there is growing demand for a more urban style of living among some baby boomers. This is encouraging developers like Smith, who already runs 16 suburban senior living facilities, to enter cities like New York, where real estate costs are high.
    James Peck is Inspir's first resident. He's a retired lawyer from New York City, who initially moved to the suburbs when he became critically ill about 18 months ago and needed care. When Inspir opened in March, he returned to the city.
    "I have been a court lawyer in New York City for 40 years and I've been around. And I just came upon this place where we are in and I fell in love with it", he said.
    Peck's wife, Ada Samuelsson, was reassured when she saw that Inspir's sister facility in Connecticut, where James was initially living, was very cautious in its approach to controlling COVID-19 infections. She decided to move him as soon as Inspir opened in Manhattan.
    "They had very excellent records. They had maybe one or two cases but immediately took care of it, locked the facility up. So the medical team was extremely efficient," she said.
    The price tag for residents is a minimum of $13,500 per month. That includes room and board, a concierge, and access to unique events like virtual entertainment featuring Broadway actors. There are in-house doctors, a dining room, a movie theater and a hair salon.
    (Production: Hussein Al Waaile, Kyoko Gasha, Cath Turner)
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