Nursing Facilities

COVID-19 cases in nursing homes are climbing, and a new report reveals a wide range of case and vaccination rates in the Mountain West.

In another sign the pandemic is starting to end, people at hundreds of residential care facilities across Colorado no longer have to wear masks. The caveat is the same as the one for the general public: the rule applies only to those who are vaccinated.

After a year of coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and assisted living centers, the worst may finally be over.

This weekend, 10,000 people aged 70 or older are expected to receive a COVID-19 vaccine during a mass, drive-through vaccination event in the parking lots outside Denver’s Coors Field. But the rush to get a coronavirus vaccine has not been matched by some health workers who care for elderly and frail residents at long-term care facilities.

As COVID-19 vaccines rolled out for residents in long-term care, almost 300 of Colorado’s facilities were contending with active outbreaks involving more than 9,000 infections.

As coronavirus cases across Colorado rose dramatically in recent weeks, so did deaths in nursing homes. Of the 624 confirmed fatalities in nursing homes since the pandemic first hit the state in March, about a fifth were in facilities that have active outbreaks, according to state data analyzed by KUNC.

Residents of the Estes Park Health Living Center in Fort Collins nursing home may be displaced due to what the operating company calls insurmountable financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is now 30 years old. Among its many provisions, the ADA prevents employment discrimination and provides support services like interpreters. But advocates say more work needs to be done to fulfill the law’s promise of independent living, especially in rural areas.

Nursing homes banned all visitors and nonessential workers from their facilities in mid-March to stop the spread of COVID-19. Advocates and families want that ban to end.

Nancy Miller misses going on walks with her older sister Diane Henderson. Henderson is 82 and has Alzheimer's disease and dementia."I went a lot to visit…