WEBVTT - Keeping Elderly Patients Safe

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Prognosis. I'm Laura Carlson. It's day one and

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<v Speaker 1>seven since coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. Our main story.

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<v Speaker 1>It's well known that nursing homes have suffered some of

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<v Speaker 1>the worst COVID nineteen outbreaks, but some care homes seem

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<v Speaker 1>to be much safer than others. So what's the secret

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<v Speaker 1>to protecting elderly patients? But first, here's what happened in

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<v Speaker 1>virus news today. Florida suspended drinking at bars across the state,

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<v Speaker 1>effective immediately today. It was the state's first major policy

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<v Speaker 1>shift in response to a surge in COVID nineteen cases

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<v Speaker 1>this month. The state's one day increase in cases Friday

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<v Speaker 1>was its biggest ever. Other Sun Belt hotspots are also

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<v Speaker 1>seeing cases continue to rise. Cases in Arizona jumped five

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<v Speaker 1>point four percent today and the state had its biggest

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<v Speaker 1>yet jump in hospitalizations. Governor Doug Doocy said Thursday that

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<v Speaker 1>hospitals are likely to hit surge capacity very soon, with

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<v Speaker 1>a number of cases and hospitalizations expected to worsen in

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<v Speaker 1>the next two weeks. And in Harris County, Texas, where

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<v Speaker 1>Houston is located, a Level one emergency was declared today

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<v Speaker 1>that's equivalent to a recommendation that residents stay at home

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<v Speaker 1>as much as possible to prevent or slow the spread

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<v Speaker 1>of the virus. Finally, the alarming spread of the virus

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<v Speaker 1>in the US isn't stopping some airlines from forging ahead

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<v Speaker 1>with a comp fleet return to pre COVID business as usual.

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<v Speaker 1>American Airlines will sell flights to capacity starting on Wednesday,

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<v Speaker 1>abandoning limits on passenger loads it had put in place

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<v Speaker 1>as a coronavirus safety measure. United Airlines hasn't guaranteed to

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<v Speaker 1>block seats, but Delta Airlines has said it will keep

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<v Speaker 1>middle seats open through September. Southwest Airlines has committed to

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<v Speaker 1>block middle seats unless customers are traveling together. And now

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<v Speaker 1>for our main story around the world, care homes have

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<v Speaker 1>been a hotbit for COVID nineteen outbreaks because older people

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<v Speaker 1>are particularly vulnerable. Nursing homes and assisted living facilities have

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<v Speaker 1>had some of the deadliest outcomes during the pandemic, but

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<v Speaker 1>some nursing homes have done much better than others at

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<v Speaker 1>containing the virus spread and protecting their elderly residents. Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>reporter Angelica Livito reports that one company in the Seattle

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<v Speaker 1>area learned early in the pandemic the essential ingredient for

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<v Speaker 1>COVID management. Testing, testing and testing again. So I'll start

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<v Speaker 1>by well, coming everybody, thank you for coming. And this

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<v Speaker 1>is important WAK. We're fighting the invisible enemy UM. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>broad testing. We're testing all residents and all staff. He

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<v Speaker 1>at the University House Wallingford. Albert Nanga is the regional

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<v Speaker 1>director of Health and Wellness at Era Living. He is

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<v Speaker 1>preparing to test residents at University House Wallingford and assisted

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<v Speaker 1>living facility in Seattle. Testing is a key tool to

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<v Speaker 1>identifying people infected with the novel coronavirus and assisted living

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<v Speaker 1>facilities and nursing homes. It might sound obvious now, but

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<v Speaker 1>that was not always the case, and Nursing Home first

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<v Speaker 1>exposed the US to just how deadly the novel coronavirus

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<v Speaker 1>could be. The virus swept through the Life Care Center

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<v Speaker 1>of Kirkland in late February. It infected residents and employees alike.

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<v Speaker 1>Deaths had been linked to the Washington facility a short

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<v Speaker 1>drive away in Seattle. Alarm bells started going off at

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<v Speaker 1>Earra Living's Ida Call of our House for Venna in

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<v Speaker 1>early March. One resident visited his doctor on March four.

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<v Speaker 1>His earlier trip to an urgent care center did not

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<v Speaker 1>resolve the unexplained confusion he was experiencing. The doctor prescribed

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<v Speaker 1>antibiotics for what looked like bacterial pneumonia. On the way

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<v Speaker 1>back to the ida call of her house, the family

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<v Speaker 1>called that the heads up suspicious. A nurse called Manonga

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<v Speaker 1>and so for me, that was a rich flag. I

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<v Speaker 1>for minus that let's talk to the family to see

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<v Speaker 1>if we can actually request this resident not to enter

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<v Speaker 1>the community but proceed to the emergence room and detested.

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<v Speaker 1>At the time, we are not testing abilities anywhere. Two

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<v Speaker 1>days later, on March six, the hospital called the resident

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<v Speaker 1>tested positive. We are to stay calm. We anticipated that

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<v Speaker 1>it could potentially cause a lot of panic in many

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<v Speaker 1>people around within and outside the combility. So we had

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<v Speaker 1>to come together and to seek some understanding of what

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<v Speaker 1>we delivered with and we agreed on sweeping protective measures

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<v Speaker 1>to be able to potentially it's so late anyone any

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<v Speaker 1>kind of symptoms that we thought could be of concern.

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<v Speaker 1>Presidents and employees were notified. Were kers who came in

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<v Speaker 1>close contact with the patient were sent home. The dining

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<v Speaker 1>room was closed. Meals were delivered to residents who were

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<v Speaker 1>asked to stay in their apartments, but the virus was

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<v Speaker 1>already lurking inside. Fever, cop and other flu like symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>are the hallmarks of COVID nineteen. The first patient did

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<v Speaker 1>not show any of those signals. He died on March nine.

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<v Speaker 1>Another resident was hospitalized on March tenth. There was no

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<v Speaker 1>way to know how many others were infected. Ear A

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<v Speaker 1>Living had already been exploring how it could test everyone,

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<v Speaker 1>says Vice President of Operations Nissan Harrel. It was challenging

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<v Speaker 1>because at the time the testing guidelines were very narrow,

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<v Speaker 1>and we felt the only way to know if you

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<v Speaker 1>have it is to test, which seems simple, but we

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<v Speaker 1>felt really strong that we had to get that done,

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<v Speaker 1>and we had wanted it from the very beginning when

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<v Speaker 1>we heard there was a positive test um, and we

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<v Speaker 1>had been having conversations of about that, but then once

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<v Speaker 1>the resident passed away, we made a phone calls at

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<v Speaker 1>night and really pushed to to have it done. The

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<v Speaker 1>next day, University of Washington researchers came in and tested

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<v Speaker 1>all residents and employees. Infectious disease specialist Dr Alison Roxby

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<v Speaker 1>and her team were afraid and outbreak was brewing inside.

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<v Speaker 1>I've participated in surveys in multiple congregate settings in King County, Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>and we have seen many outbreaks that take off like wildfire.

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<v Speaker 1>So having one patient positive in a community can quickly

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<v Speaker 1>result in many positive patients if people are not distancing

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<v Speaker 1>appropriately and if they don't have adequate personal protective equipment

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<v Speaker 1>or PPE. Nanga says he was not afraid, but he

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<v Speaker 1>was prepared. I was prepared for potential wide spread because

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<v Speaker 1>we didn't know that the covidos into community. Nobody had

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<v Speaker 1>dressed their symptoms. Gentlemen that had nothing exhibited no science.

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<v Speaker 1>Now we worked up to a new reality that potentially

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<v Speaker 1>look with that better people without two dumps, and so

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<v Speaker 1>I was prepared to see in Hambok cases. Through that experience,

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<v Speaker 1>Roxby and her team at the University of Washington screened

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<v Speaker 1>everyone for symptoms. They asked them to record anything out

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<v Speaker 1>of the ordinary, like a cough or a fever. Then

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<v Speaker 1>they swabbed three of eighty residents and two of sixty

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<v Speaker 1>two workers tested positive. Some did not report any symptoms.

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<v Speaker 1>They tested all residents again one week later. Just one

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<v Speaker 1>more resident tested positive. The interventions worked. Roxby and her

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<v Speaker 1>team shared the results in a study that was published

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<v Speaker 1>in a medical journal and shared by the CDC. Her

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<v Speaker 1>conclusion testing can catch infections that screening for symptoms can't.

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<v Speaker 1>We were very hardened that despite having two patients in

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<v Speaker 1>the facility with confirmed coronavirus, that we did not see

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<v Speaker 1>a facility wide outbreak, and it suggested to us that

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<v Speaker 1>when facilities follow all of the recommendations, it's possible to

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<v Speaker 1>avoid a facility wide outbreak. Ida culver House Ravenna has

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<v Speaker 1>not detected another case of COVID nineteen among its residents.

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<v Speaker 1>Parent company Era Living has since tested its roughly two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand five d residents and employees across its eight communities

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<v Speaker 1>in the Seattle area. Four residents have died, nineteen residents

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<v Speaker 1>and seventeen workers tested positive and recovered. The company is

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<v Speaker 1>now in the process of testing everyone again. Sit back

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<v Speaker 1>in your chair. I'm gonna put this in and we're

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<v Speaker 1>going to count to ten. Okay, ready, cart with me,

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<v Speaker 1>Mononga says broad testing informed air Livings practice. All these

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<v Speaker 1>measures we had away delivery wonderful outcomes for us in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of limiting the spread of copy nine. And this

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<v Speaker 1>is I think the story of how we overcame two three, four, five, six, seven,

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<v Speaker 1>eight nine excellent. I'm gonna go to the other side. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>you are so good. Almost killed. It's been nearly four

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<v Speaker 1>months since the IDA call our house, Ravenna and assisted

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<v Speaker 1>living facilities across the country canceled activities and barred visitors.

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<v Speaker 1>The virus continues spreading in the US, with new hotspots

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<v Speaker 1>emerging in states like Arizona and Texas. In Seattle, restrictions

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<v Speaker 1>are starting to loosen air livings, residents can leave their

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<v Speaker 1>rooms and walk outside, and testing remains a crucial part

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<v Speaker 1>to keeping them safe. Safety is not a game of chance.

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<v Speaker 1>We need to make sure we trip or check every

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<v Speaker 1>single time. You guys, thank you for you angelic help.

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<v Speaker 1>We always have precated you for for all the other

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<v Speaker 1>volunteers from other communities. A house Brodie, thank you so much,

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<v Speaker 1>you guys. All right, that was Angelica Levito and that's

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<v Speaker 1>our show today. Before we go. A programming note, starting

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<v Speaker 1>next week, we will drop our Tuesday and Thursday episodes.

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<v Speaker 1>That's not because coronavirus isn't still the most important news

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<v Speaker 1>story in the world. It is and we expect it

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<v Speaker 1>will continue to be, but in recent weeks other important

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<v Speaker 1>issues have also begun to demand our attention in the US,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, a profound reckoning with racism and a potentially

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<v Speaker 1>world changing presidential election in a few months. We have

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<v Speaker 1>no intention of abandoning our commitment to cover the full

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<v Speaker 1>range of stories related to COVID nineteen. We are simply

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<v Speaker 1>stepping back slightly to make room for some others. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's it for our show today. For coverage of the

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<v Speaker 1>outbreak from one bureaus around the world, visit Bloomberg dot

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<v Speaker 1>com slash coronavirus and if you like the show, please

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<v Speaker 1>leave us a review and a rating on Apple Podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>or Spotify. It's the best way to help more listeners

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<v Speaker 1>find our global reporting. The Prognosis Daily edition is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tophor foreheads Jordan Gaspore, Magnus Hendrickson, and me Laura Carlson.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's main story was reported by Angelica Levido. Original music

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<v Speaker 1>by Leo Sidrin. Our editors are Rick Shine and Francesco Levi.

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<v Speaker 1>Francesco Levi is Bloomberg's head of Podcasts. Thanks for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>H