The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
121-140 of 226 results
As the coronavirus surges around the country, workers in nursing homes and assisted living centers are watching cases rise in long-term care facilities with a sense of dread. Many of these workers struggle with grief over the suffering they鈥檝e witnessed.
The Trump administration hailed rapid tests as the way to halt COVID鈥檚 spread in nursing homes. A KHN analysis of federal data shows they鈥檙e not being used, as questions linger about accuracy and best practices.
Frequently employed by staffing agencies based in other states, nurses and other healthcare professionals can find themselves working through crisis without advocates or adequate safety equipment.
An analysis of location data from 30 million smartphones found that facilities across the country that share the most workers also had the most COVID-19 infections. The "Kevin Bacon of nursing homes" in each state 鈥 the one with the most staffers working at other nursing homes 鈥 was likely to have the worst outbreaks of coronavirus contagion.
More than eight months into the pandemic, stockpiling of masks and other protective equipment by wealthy hospital systems is straining nursing homes and smaller providers who also need precious protective gear to keep front-line workers safe from COVID-19.
In North Carolina, staffs at nursing homes and assisted living facilities are prohibited by law from helping residents vote. So community members fill the gap, venturing into some of the places hit hardest by the coronavirus.
Voting is a point of pride for many older Americans, and senior living facilities in past years have encouraged the civic act by hosting voting precincts, providing transportation to the polls and bringing in groups to help explain election issues. But fears of the spread of the coronavirus among this vulnerable population make voting more difficult this year.
Gov. Gavin Newsom approved many consequential health care bills by his bill-signing deadline Wednesday, including a ban on the sale of menthol and other flavored tobacco products, the creation of a state generic drug label and better coverage for mental health disorders.
COVID patients have been commingled with uninfected patients in California, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New York and beyond. While officials have penalized nursing homes for such failures, hospitals have seen less scrutiny.
New York鈥檚 governor directed nursing homes to take COVID patients. But is it fair to say he 鈥渇orced鈥 them to do so, or that his directive led to the deaths of thousands of elderly residents? Most public health experts say no.
Experts say the administration鈥檚 approach with antigen tests could add cost and risk for the most vulnerable patients.
New research suggests the pandemic鈥檚 deaths are taking an enormous toll on surviving family members and worrisome ripple effects may linger for years.
鈥淟ost on the Frontline鈥 is an ongoing project by Kaiser Health News and The Guardian that aims to document the lives of health care workers in the U.S. who died from COVID 19, and to investigate why so many are victims of the disease.
As health workers were dying of COVID-19, federal work-safety officials filed just one citation against an employer and rapidly closed complaints about protective gear.
State legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom have hammered out an agreement on a budget that rejects Newsom鈥檚 proposed cuts to health care services for older and low-income people.
Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the public seems more confused than ever. And health officials still are not all on the same page; this week the World Health Organization had to walk back an official鈥檚 statement about how commonly the virus is spread by people without symptoms. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews Michael Mackert, a professor and health communications expert at the University of Texas-Austin, about how health information can best be translated to the public.
More than 3,000 nursing homes reported less than a week鈥檚 worth of supplies, and 653 said they had run out entirely at some point. Stopgap FEMA equipment has not reached many facilities, and packages that have arrived have fallen short of promises.
KHN senior correspondent Jordan Rau takes a spin through this week's essential health care news.
The guidance to stay sheltered as society slowly reopens wears on older Americans, who have a growing sense of isolation and depression.
Not having an accurate, honest, nationwide way to tally COVID-19 cases will only add to the current tragedy.
漏 2026 KFF