Even before they became deadly petri dishes for the worst pandemic in generations, many nursing homes were struggling to stay afloat and provide quality care, the New York Times reported. But since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, nursing home operators have had to spend more money on protective equipment for staff and technology to connect residents with relatives who are no longer allowed to visit. Their revenues have shrunk because they are admitting fewer new residents in hopes of reducing the risk of infection. The result is that some nursing homes, which often run on razor-thin profit margins, may be unable to pay their rent and other bills without government help. “It could be a huge economic mess,” said Charlene Harrington, a professor emerita of nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. “It is possible that many nursing home chains could go bankrupt with the virus.” Presbyterian Homes and Services, a Minnesota-based nonprofit operator of 16 nursing homes, estimates that the average 72-bed nursing home is spending an additional $2,265 a day on personal protective gear and an additional $1,500 a day on extra nursing staff. At Meadow Ridge, a retirement community in Redding, Conn., with 62 nursing-home beds, executives have been forced to use Amazon or outside vendors to buy protective gear, said Kimberly Held, the community’s director of nursing.
