In a policy brief published today in its namesake journal (DOI: 10.1111/jgs.16510), the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) offered a roadmap to guide federal, state, and local governments addressing COVID-19 concerns in an important but oft-overlooked arena: Assisted living facilities (ALFs).
In a policy brief published today in its namesake journal (DOI: 10.1111/jgs.16510), the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) offered a roadmap to guide federal, state, and local governments addressing COVID-19 concerns in an important but oft-overlooked arena: Assisted living facilities (ALFs). The brief, which joins an earlier statement on COVID-19 care in nursing homes (DOI: 10.1111/jgs.16477), outlines recommendations based on the latest research and guidance, encompassing actions on resource needs, patient transfers, priorities for public health, and opportunities to better empower health workers on the frontlines of COVID-19 care.
“As we’ve already learned, outbreaks impacting older people are a foreseeable consequence of this pandemic, even with experts working as valiantly as they are,” notes AGS President-Elect Annie Medina-Walpole, MD, AGSF. “We hope this brief can help policymakers, advocates, and clinicians look at but also beyond the circumstances we can control—and those we can’t—to prioritize the innovation, collaboration, and compassion that can put key patients and public health first. That’s a cardinal direction for planning in crisis and in calm, regardless of where we may live as we age.”
Nationwide, more than 800,000 people live in more than 28,000 ALFs, which employ more than 450,000 individuals. More than 80 percent of all ALFs residents are 75 years old or older. However, these individuals also live with increased susceptibility to the serious complications of COVID-19, including respiratory failure and death. Given the wide variety of structure and staffing for ALFs, most are not as well-resourced compared to other settings to respond to COVID-19. Though some elements of nursing home guidance could by adopted by ALFs, many still may struggle to implement best practices while more targeted recommendations are unavailable.
Read more at American Geriatrics Society
