The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently released information about the number of coronavirus cases at nursing homes.
But the data shows limited and incomplete information for nursing homes in Williamsburg.
“The data released today shows that as of May 31, 2020, about 13,600 nursing homes – approximately 88 percent of the 15,400 Medicare and Medicaid nursing homes – had reported the required data to the (CDC),” according to CMS’ announcement. “These facilities reported over 95,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and almost 32,000 deaths.”
In Williamsburg, five nursing homes are listed: The Convalescent Center at Patriots Colony, WindsorMeade of Williamsburg, Consulate Healthcare of Williamsburg, Woodhaven Hall at Williamsburg Landing and Envoy of Williamsburg.
On April 19, CMS required nursing homes to let patients and their families know about coronavirus cases and ordered nursing homes to report the cases and death to the CDC, according to the news release.
WYDaily reached out to CMS to check on Envoy of Williamsburg’s coronavirus cases and why the website showed there was no information available for the nursing home.
Lorraine A. Ryan, public affairs officer for the CMS, sent WYDaily their announcement about the launch of the website and directed them to the frequently asked questions page.
“As with any new reporting program, there can be data submission errors in the beginning,” she wrote in an email Monday. “In an effort to be transparent, CMS made the data collected by the CDC public as quickly as possible balancing transparency and speed against the potential of initial data errors.”
Ryan noted CMS is asking nursing homes ––whose data has not passed “certain quality checks”–– to review the data for accuracy and CMS will keep checking the data.
“As CMS continues to analyze the data going forward we expect fewer errors as nursing home staff get used to these requirements and CMS has more time to quality check the data,” she wrote.
CMS plans to update the case information next week and plans to update the website weekly.
It’s unclear if CMS is asking or reporting the number of previous coronavirus cases. For example, both WindsorMeade and Williamsburg Landing had positive cases but the information is not reflected on CMS’ website.
The website has posted the number of complaint survey by the state since March 4 and the nursing home data from the CDC such as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths, according to CMS’ frequently asked questions page.
Not every nursing home was inspected since state inspectors now have other duties like helping with patients, and some states were unable to survey the nursing home due to personal protective equipment shortages.
The Convalescent Center at Patriots Colony, WindsorMeade of Williamsburg and Woodhaven Hall at Williamsburg Landing passed the quality checks on May 24 and May 31, according to the CMS COVID-19 Nursing Home Data website.
Consulate Healthcare of Williamsburg and Envoy of Williamsburg have not submitted information to the CDC as of May 24 and May 31, according to CMS’ website. However, the data shows five cases of the coronavirus at Consulate Healthcare of Williamsburg on Wednesday.
It’s unclear how many positive cases of the coronavirus are at Envoy of Williamsburg and if the nursing home submitted information to CMS as of June 10.
A representative for Envoy was not immediately available for comment.
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