Nursing Home Supplies
Group 28- Prachi Patel, Jayanth Reddy Rachamallu, Saikiran Reddy Nallabolu
Group 28- Prachi Patel, Jayanth Reddy Rachamallu, Saikiran Reddy Nallabolu
INTRODUCTION
The coronavirus pandemic has created havoc in nursing homes not only in the US but all around the world. US nursing homes and care facilities, are responsible for a huge number of fatalities and have endured weeks of nationwide lockdowns with no visitations, public dining or activities allowed. Only recently have these restrictions been relaxed. However, during the peak pandemic there has been a shortage of supplies like masks, sanitizers, ventilators along with nursing and clinical staff as well. The magnitude of these shortfalls poses a grave threat to public health and needs to be prioritized for the long term well being of the residents of the nursing home.
STATE LEVEL ANALYSIS ON SHORTAGE OF AIDES,CLINICAL STAFF,NURSING STAFF AND OTHER STAFF
From low numbers of nursing and clinical staff, to shortage of equipment the pandemic has fueled shortages across all sectors. The figure on the left shows the different states and the shortage they faced, varying from the various intensities of green to red the amount of aid shortage increases. We can see the highest shortage of aides in the state of Ohio with a shortage of 25,541 followed by Minnesota.
The image depicts the shortage of clinical aides. We can see that the red which represents the highest number of shortage in a state is again seen in Ohio with 3567 followed by New York.
Several trends may be the cause of aides shortages. Hospitals and other private agencies may be hiring aids for better pay and benefits causing a shortage in nursing homes.
Nurses working in nursing homes in the US have been facing quite a challenge especially during the pandemic. The demand for qualified nurses has increased tremendously. Elderly patients requiring special and more close attention, and also being more susceptible to the diseases, need the extra care. However with the onset of the pandemic for the last three years there is an unusual shortage especially in nursing homes and smaller institutions.
The forerunner state in shortage of nurses also happens to be Ohio with a shortage of 23,574,followed by Minnesota.
The healthcare industry is important to the physical and economic growth of every person in the United States and this includes all staff or personnel responsible for the betterment of the residents of the home.
The image on the right gives us a glimpse of the situation when it comes to the lack of staff during the last three years. We can see Ohio tops the list again with a shortage of 14,018 in nursing homes and is once again its followed by Minnesota .
We can see a consistent shortage in the states of Ohio and Minnesota during the past three years. Of course the major the reason for this is the pandemic, but other possible reasons could be that Ohio is one of the states which has a larger population of individuals above the age of 60.The 2020 state census report indicated that in 2020 there were 2.91 million people in the state above the age of 60.With an increase in the number of elder individuals and with the onset of the pandemic Ohio was of the states that was hit harder than the rest.
STATE LEVEL ANALYSIS ON AVAILIBILITY OF EYE PROTECTION,GLOVES,HAND SANITIZER,N95 MASKS AND SURGICAL MASKS
Apart from there being an immense shortage in staff we can see that there is shortage is supplies as well during the past three years. The above bar chart shows the availability of masks during the pandemic with Texas in the lead with 63,445 masks, followed by California with 61,432 eye protectors available and Guam coming in last 54 eye protectors.
In the tree map displayed above a similar pattern can be observed in case of availability of gloves for more than seven days. Texas comes in first with the maximum glove availability of 63,539 followed by California and the least is Guam with 54 gloves.
With the onset of the pandemic the onset good quality masks have become extremely essential especially in nursing homes where the average age is higher. Elder people being more prone to contracting the virus the lack of masks can prove to be fatal.
The highest availability of N95 masks can be seen in Texas with 61,403 and the least is Guam with 54.
With the increase in the spread of infection everyday, especially in places like nursing homes where there are a larger number of higher risk patients living under the same roof, it becomes almost essential to invest in cleanliness.
The tree map indicates the states which have higher or sufficient number of alcohol based hand sanitizers. Texas is in the lead with 63,508 sanitizers followed by Ohio with 49,976 and last comes in Guam with 51.
As seen in the bar graph surgical masks are available in the largest quantities in Texas with around 63,536 followed by California and Guam comes in last with a value of 54.
A consistent pattern is observed in all these visuals about Texas being the top state when it comes to having availability of supplies in their nursing homes. One of the reasons this trend is consistent is probably because of the large sums of money that Texas spends on equipment. In 2020 during the peak of the pandemic Texas spent nearly 200 million dollars on safety equipment which turned out to be beneficial for its nursing homes.
The world is constantly changing, it is the only constant in our society. With the healthcare industry making tremendous progress, it still needs to evolve to meet new needs and provide the appropriate care. Current challenges like the baby boomer generation aging, technological advancements, changes in healthcare policies, reinforces the need for qualified individuals to lead the healthcare system such that it is accessible to all.