(NPR.ORG) – Maryland, D.C. and Virginia are not mandating COVID-19 tests for the inspectors examining conditions in local nursing homes, public health spokespeople from all three jurisdictions confirmed. The lack of testing for the inspectors, nursing home leaders say, stands in contrast to state and federal testing requirements for nearly anyone entering a nursing home these days.
For the past several months, inspectors were focused on completing federally mandated infection control surveys to evaluate long term care facilities’ responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the inspectors’ findings have resulted in citations and fines for nursing homes found to have inadequate screening, social distancing or sanitizing practices.
Nursing home leaders are worried that inspectors are entering facilities without knowing their COVID-19 status, said Allison Ciborowski, the president of LeadingAge Maryland, a long-term care industry group.
