Thomas Goldsmith

A skilled nursing facility sign is in the foreground and a building is in the background. The facility, A PruittHealth skilled-nursing facility for veterans in Orange County, is dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19, and has a history of poor staffing.

NC commission votes to extend deal for private management of state’s veterans nursing homes

November 20, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith Leave a Comment

NC commission votes to extend deal for private management of state’s veterans nursing homes - North Carolina Health News

The Georgia-based company that oversees NC’s state veterans nursing homes got approval Tuesday for a one-year contract renewal from the state Veterans Affairs Commission.

By Thomas Goldsmith For the first time, a significant public body had a discussion of North Carolina’s deal with the company that runs the NC State Veterans Homes, at which 38 residents contracted COVID-19 and died. In all, 87 veterans were diagnosed as having contracted the virus. A Tuesday vote by the state’s NC Veterans […]

Following best practices early helped prevent COVID spread in nursing homes

November 20, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith Leave a Comment

Following best practices early helped prevent COVID spread in nursing homes - North Carolina Health News

Staffing up, amassing PPE, leaning on experience and hitting the three Ws hard helped defeat COVID in many NC nursing homes. This is the second of two stories exploring what skilled nursing facilities can do and have done to prevent COVID infections for the people in their care. This story has been supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, http://solutionsjournalism.org.

By Thomas Goldsmith When leaders at the Piedmont Crossing nursing home in Hickory learned that COVID-19 was terrorizing North Carolina, they recognized the threat, even if they didn’t know yet how deadly this virus could become. That meant that the facility, owned and operated by the nonprofit United Church Homes and Services organization, had a […]

shows the back of a wheelchair, with an old and wizened hand on the arm of the chair

COVID-free nursing homes fought hard to keep virus out

November 19, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith Leave a Comment

COVID-free nursing homes fought hard to keep virus out - North Carolina Health News

More than 200 North Carolina nursing homes have succeeded in totally excluding COVID-19 infections. What did they do right? This is the first of two stories exploring what skilled nursing facilities can do and have done to prevent COVID infections for the people in their care.

This story has been supported by the Solutions Journalism Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems, http://solutionsjournalism.org. By Thomas Goldsmith Even as more than 1,800 of North Carolina’s nursing home residents have died from COVID since March, thousands more of these most vulnerable have escaped the horrific grip […]

shows people in military uniforms talking to an aging veteran who's in a wheelchair, they're all smiling and laughing.

As other states take action, NC punts review of nursing homes where dozens of vets died of COVID-19

November 11, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith 1 Comment

As other states take action, NC punts review of nursing homes where dozens of vets died of COVID-19 - North Carolina Health News

As state and federal officials nationally launch investigations and seek solutions in the deaths of hundreds of veterans in state nursing homes, North Carolina says it will look next year into 36 such deaths in its privately managed veterans nursing centers.

By Thomas Goldsmith North Carolina is planning for a barebones extension of a private management deal for four state-owned veterans nursing homes, where 36 residents died of COVID-19 this year. The decision means a delay of more than a year until the completion of a thorough review and competitive-bidding process concerning the deal with PruittHealth, […]

Report: Residents in 90 percent of NC nursing homes face increased risk of injury or death in emergencies

September 24, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

Report: Residents in 90 percent of NC nursing homes face increased risk of injury or death in emergencies - North Carolina Health News

Federal regulators say as many as nine of 10 people who live in NC nursing homes are at heightened risk of death or injury in emergencies because of life-safety violations.

By Thomas Goldsmith Residents at nine out 10 of North Carolina nursing homes face increased risk of death or injury during emergencies because of lapses in meeting state standards, according to a critical new report from a federal oversight agency. The inspector general’s office, or OIG, of the federal Department of Health and Human Services […]

people in nursing homes smile because they're getting better food under a grant-funded program

As $35M in nursing-home fines sits mostly idle, COVID-ridden NC ranks 3rd among states with unused funds

September 17, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

As $35M in nursing-home fines sits mostly idle, COVID-ridden NC ranks 3rd among states with unused funds - North Carolina Health News

NC has built up a $35 million fund of fines levied against nursing homes, earmarked to improve quality of life for residents. Why aren’t these caches being used to fight COVID-19?

By Thomas Goldsmith Federal regulators can fine North Carolina nursing homes upward of a half-million dollars when facilities go seriously wrong — as in the case of a Fayetteville resident who died after staff found her with fire ants covering her face and upper body. The deadly 2019 incident described in state records brought a […]

NC health brain trust keeps focus on ‘seriously ill’ patients, those likely to die within a year

September 1, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

NC health brain trust keeps focus on ‘seriously ill’ patients, those likely to die within a year - North Carolina Health News

Through most of 2019, high-level North Carolina health professionals were examining the needs of the ‘seriously ill’ population in the state. When COVID-19 arrived in 2020, it was clear much more remained to be done for patients who are within a year of dying.

By Thomas Goldsmith Seriously. That’s the way North Carolina health-care professionals want the state’s health care system and broader community to consider and support fellow residents with conditions that endanger their lives and lifespans. The Task Force on Serious Illness Care recommended improving end-of-life care and planning as important needs that call for more attention. […]

Looking for care after a COVID hospitalization? Here are some suggestions from experts.

August 19, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

Looking for care after a COVID hospitalization? Here are some suggestions from experts. - North Carolina Health News

It's good news that a North Carolina COVID-19 patient may be ready to be discharged from hospital. But caregivers are also realizing the change will come with a raft of questions about whether the home and caregiver can support a loved one recovering from the deadly virus.

By Thomas Goldsmith North Carolina caregivers have a real hunger for practical answers to difficult questions about COVID-19. Just consider the 9,000 participants who clicked into a statewide “tele town hall” organized by state AARP Aug. 17. The listeners’ questions about the disease covered a broad range of topics, but many centered on friends’ or […]

NC outlines plans in wake of 36 COVID-related veterans deaths in state nursing homes

August 17, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

NC outlines plans in wake of 36 COVID-related veterans deaths in state nursing homes - North Carolina Health News

NC Gov. Roy Cooper says he’ll have his people check out the contract that a Georgia health care company has held for 22 years with the state.

By Thomas Goldsmith Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration says it will review the contract management of North Carolina’s four state-owned veterans nursing homes by a private Georgia-based health care conglomerate. Because 36 veterans died of COVID-19 in the homes, Cooper wants to know what’s what before the state grants a second one-year extension of Pruitt’s five-year […]

shows rows of headstones in a veterans cemetery

Cooper, national leaders respond to ravaged veterans nursing homes, look ahead for solutions

July 31, 2020 by Thomas Goldsmith

Cooper, national leaders respond to ravaged veterans nursing homes, look ahead for solutions - North Carolina Health News

Gaps in state federal oversight and accountability for privately run veterans homes are now facing scrutiny at all levels of government.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Riley Davis The 36 deaths of North Carolina veterans in state veterans nursing homes have gotten the attention of Gov. Roy Cooper, whose spokesman says he’s moving to hold accountable the private management company that has run the homes for 22 years. “The men and women who bravely served our nation […]

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