Nursing homes call on governors to improve COVID-19 testing

2020 07 15 18 10 4189 Patient Elderly Woman 400

Long-term care facilities in the U.S. have asked the National Governors Association (NGA) to assist them in obtaining better COVID-19 testing and lab processing.

Governors should direct state public health agencies to expedite lab processing times and offer a solution for onsite testing with reliable and rapid results to prevent major outbreaks among residents, according to the letter, which was sent by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).

According to the letter, 56% of facilities have reported that lab processing was the top barrier for access to testing, with cost of testing coming in second. The approximately two days it is taking to receive results hurts the ability of long-term facilities to fight the virus.

With a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases among the general population, facility representatives are concerned that labs will get overwhelmed, causing lags in receiving results, the AHCA and NCAL wrote.

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