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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; Pennsylvania&rsquo;s U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey Tuesday said more than 94,000 nursing home and long-term care facility residents and workers have died from COVID-19, accounting for approximately 40% of all COVID-related deaths in the U.S.
				As the worst pandemic in a century ravages nursing homes and long-term care facilities, Casey, D-Scranton, and Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, are introducing a bipartisan bill to enhance accountability among the nation&rsquo;s poorest performing nursing homes.
				In a joint news release, the two senators said this &ldquo;national tragedy&rdquo; has reinforced the urgent need to improve care quality in a subset of nursing homes that persistently fall short.
				According to information from the senators:
				&#8226; Currently, there are more than 500 facilities nationwide that have consistently failed to meet federal safety and care requirements.
				&#8226; Of those facilities, only a maximum of 88 are chosen to participate in the Special Focus Facility (SFF) program, which provides additional oversight and inspections.
				Drawing on the senators&rsquo; groundbreaking 2019 investigation, the Nursing Home Reform Modernization Act of 2020 would expand the SFF program to ensure that all facilities nominated as candidates for the SFF program can receive additional oversight and enforcement, as well as technical assistance and educational programming.
				&ldquo;Since the first outbreak of COVID-19 at a nursing facility in February, more than 94,000 residents and workers in nursing homes and long-term care facilities have died from the virus,&rdquo; Casey said. &ldquo;We have an imperative to help nursing homes residents and workers amid this public health crisis, and we must also improve care quality in nursing facilities &mdash; especially those that have a consistent pattern of failing safety and care standards. We have an obligation to these residents and workers to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19 and keep them safe.&rdquo;
				Casey urged his colleagues in the Senate to pass the bipartisan bill immediately.
				&ldquo;Two of every three Pennsylvanians to die from COVID-19 were residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities,&rdquo; Toomey said. &ldquo;Unfortunately, some of the largest outbreaks occurred in facilities with records of persistent failure to protect their residents. his new bipartisan legislation will provide greater oversight and resources to systemically under-performing nursing homes. The Senate should pass this bill without delay.&rdquo;
				Bill Sweeney, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for AARP, said AARP is pleased to support the bipartisan Nursing Home Reform Modernization Act of 2020.
				&ldquo;The COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the ongoing importance of safeguarding the quality of care, quality of life, health, safety, and well-being of nursing home residents and staff,&rdquo; Sweeney said. &ldquo;This bill would identify and increase transparency around nursing homes with a history of serious quality issues, and ensure they receive more frequent inspections. The legislation also includes vital consumer protections to help ensure appropriate oversight and accountability for nursing homes.&rdquo;
				&lsquo;Our worst fears&rsquo;
				The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and assisted living communities across the country that provide care to approximately five million people each year, released a report Tuesday showing new COVID cases in nursing homes in the U.S. has now reached a record number of weekly new cases this month due to the community spread among the general population, surpassing previous peaks since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) started tracking cases in nursing homes.
				Recent data released by Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show that with the recent spike in new COVID cases in the general U.S. population, weekly nursing home cases are also on the rise.
				According to Johns Hopkins University, weekly new COVID cases in the general U.S. population rose by 140 percent to 572,613,527 new cases the week of Nov. 1.
				&ldquo;Our worst fears have come true as COVID runs rampant among the general population, and long term care facilities are powerless to fully prevent it from entering due to its asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread,&rdquo; stated Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. &ldquo;Our health care heroes are doing everything they can to prevent it from spreading further, but this level of COVID nationwide puts serious strain on our workforce, supplies, and testing capacity.
				&ldquo;If everybody would wear a mask and social distance to reduce the level of COVID in the community, we know we would dramatically reduce these rates in long term care facilities.&rdquo;

Casey, Toomey unveil bipartisan nursing home reform legislation