Nursing homes are incubators for COVID19.
The American outbreak started in earnest at a Life Care facility in Kirkland, WA. 37 residents died in that one facility. 37.
The problems at nursing homes have only worsened then.
A new count by The New York Times finds, the number of people living in or connected to nursing homes who have died of the coronavirus to be at least 7,000, far higher than previously known. The Times continued, 'Overall, about a fifth of deaths from the virus in the United States have been tied to nursing homes or other long-term care facilities, the Times review of cases shows. And more than 36,500 residents and employees across the nation have contracted it.
Why are they still open?
Let's face it. Much of the American economy has been shut down. Restaurants, bars, breweries and gyms were among the first to be closed in the city of Phoenix and elsewhere.
These over-eager politicians used emergency powers in hopes of stopping the spread of the virus. From there other businesses were shuttered in the name of safety, especially for the safety of the most vulnerable as those with immune conditions are dying from COVID19 at much higher rates.
If the goal behind closing businesses is to protect Americans, especially the most vulnerable, why not close nursing homes? We closed or shifted 'non-essential' businesses to work from home for safety reasons.
Logically, It would only make sense to close nursing homes, right?
Apparently not.
We here at Russell & Hunter wondered why restaurants, bars and gyms were closed without evidence COVID19 was spreading there. Many of these places are small businesses. Small businesses who have worked their entire lives to open and run their shops. Entrepreneurs who risk everything go out on their own. Being an entrepreneur takes courage. A small business owner becomes the producer, the HR department, payroll, and everything else. And they hire others.
Small businesses employ 1 million people across Arizona.
Mayors, Governors and other elected officials have interrupted those dreams. Meanwhile, an actual place where the most vulnerable are living and dying are still open.
"They’re death pits,” Betsy McCaughey, a former Lt. Governor of New York, told the The New York Times.
The Times also says in New Jersey, '1,500 deaths were tied to nursing facilities.'
Any more evidence needed?
More from The Times:
These homes, with staff members who receive less extensive training than those in hospitals, tend to struggle to slow infectious diseases. Employees are often poorly paid workers who move between multiple jobs and return home to communities at risk of contracting the virus.
It's not easy to close nursing homes.
But, if safety is the main concern, governments should figure out a real way to protect our most vulnerable instead of just shutting down everything but them.
If governments won't, we will. Move them in with families. Move them to hospitals. If we are truly all in this together as celebrities and politicians keep telling us, we will find a way to keep our family in nursing homes safe. Americans have walked on the moon. We always find a way.
Finding solutions is THE American Way.