Select Subcommittee to Hold Hearing Examining the Impact of the Coronavirus in Nursing Homes

Washington, D.C. (September 16, 2022) – On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. ET, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by Rep. James E. Clyburn, will hold a hybrid hearing on the impact of the coronavirus in our nation’s nursing homes. Witnesses will include nursing home experts, an advocate, and a frontline worker who will testify to the challenges that the coronavirus pandemic has posed to nursing home residents and staff and what measures can be adopted to ensure nursing homes are better equipped to protect residents and staff in the future.

More than 200,000 Americans residing or working in long-term care facilities across the nation—including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other senior care settings—have died from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, accounting for roughly a fifth of all coronavirus deaths in the United States. Although the development and widespread distribution of highly effective coronavirus vaccines and treatments have helped to save countless lives, nursing home residents and staff still face higher risks than most other Americans. Compounding these risks, booster uptake has stalled in nursing homes: recent data suggest that only 57% of residents and 43% of staff are up to date on their vaccines, meaning they had completed a primary series and received the most recent booster dose recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, long-standing challenges pre-dating the coronavirus crisis, such as staffing shortages and poor infection control, continue to endanger nursing home residents and staff.

The Biden-Harris Administration is working with long-term care facilities to ensure that those most at-risk from the coronavirus can get protection from updated coronavirus boosters targeted against Omicron subvariants and access to effective treatments. The Administration has also undertaken a series of reforms to improve the safety and quality of nursing home care, hold nursing homes accountable for the care they provide, and make the quality of care and facility ownership more transparent so that residents and their loved ones can make informed decisions about their care.

Experts at the hearing will weigh the consequences of the coronavirus crisis and structural problems in nursing homes, as well as possible solutions to address them so that residents and staff can be better protected from the coronavirus and other public health risks.