As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spreads in the U.S. and senior living companies face increasing challenges, the Senate on Tuesday did not vote on a relief bill passed by the House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), however, promised action this week.
Provisions in a multi-billion dollar bill to provide coronavirus-related relief to workers would “significantly curtail our caregiver workforce” and must be addressed, Argentum President and CEO James Balda and American Seniors Housing Association President David Schless said Monday in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The federal government should clarify protocols that assisted living communities and states should take when residents have symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and should take other steps to prioritize senior living as responses to the virus continue, Argentum President and CEO James Balda recommended Friday in letters to Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar and leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Connected Living is updating its free public app to provide real-time updates about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to senior living staff members, residents and families. It will include information from Argentum, LeadingAge and other sources.
Assisted living communities should limit access to only those individuals who are critical to the operational or care needs of their buildings in order to prevent “dire consequences” that could result from a coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak, the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living recommend in new guidance. A press conference about the action came on the same day that Argentum and the country’s largest senior living company, Brookdale Senior Living, canceled planned events due to virus-related concerns.
The number of coronavirus cases nationwide surged past the 100 mark Tuesday, while contributing to at least a half dozen deaths. Federal officials are urging calm as industry groups scramble to give members useful advice and information.
Many operators must have breathed a sigh of relief earlier this week.
Argentum has been certified as a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work for the second consecutive year, the 32-employee association announced Tuesday.
The National Labor Relations Board is issuing its “joint employer” final rule today, reverting to the standard that the board used for several decades before the the 2015 decision in the case Browning-Ferris Industries of California v. NLRB but with “clarity, stability and predictability,” NLRB Chairman John F. Ring said.
Argentum expects to use a grant of almost $6 million from the Department of Labor to train more than 7,200 apprentices in key senior living and allied health occupations, the organization announced Wednesday.
