Opinion: Assisted living and Covid-19: the next Kirkland might not be a nursing home
With the national spotlight turned on nursing homes following the Covid-19 outbreak at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Wash., that led to the deaths of 35 residents, the nearly 1 million residents of assisted living communities are getting lost in the shadows. They need the same kind of attention as nursing home residents.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention aim to beef up infection prevention and control in nursing homes. Unless similar efforts are made in assisted living communities, we will almost certainly see Kirkland-type outbreaks in them.
