A Washington physician and the doctor-owner of a medical personnel company have been named in a lawsuit filed by a nursing home. The lawsuit alleges that the accused doctor in concurrence with the doctor owning the placement company continued to see residents in the facility despite experiencing symptoms and then testing positive for COVID-19. The allegations claim that the doctor did not tell anyone at the nursing home that she was symptomatic, and that she filled out and signed a screening checklist as if she were symptom free.
The facility had at least 52 residents and 47 staff members who contracted COVID-19, and the lawsuit imputes that outbreak to the doctor and the owner of the personnel company. Nine of those who became infected died.
A spokeswoman for the county’s Public Health Department said this about the complexity of tracing the spread of infection like COVID-19: “In long-term care facilities and other congregate settings, it is hard to trace back where each person got infected, and who they got infected from. For example, there may be transmission between residents, between healthcare workers, and between healthcare workers and residents,”
During the timeframe in question, the nursing home had banned most visitors. Only essential persons were being allowed to enter, and that was after completing a checklist that asked questions about exposure to the Coronavirus and whether they had respiratory symptoms associated with COVID-19, e.g., cough, fever, or sore throat.
The lawsuit contends that the doctor began exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms on March 10, which she advised the personnel agency owner about on March 11. The owner at that time had already issued a memo saying employees having symptoms “will not be allowed to return to work until cleared by their physician in coordination with health department or CDC officials as appropriate.” The doctor saw residents at the nursing home on March 13.
Compliance Perspective
A nursing home is responsible for implementing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines regarding testing and re-testing of Health Care Personnel (HCP) who are defined as all paid and unpaid persons serving in healthcare settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including body substances (e.g., blood, tissue, and specific body fluids); contaminated medical supplies, devices, and equipment; contaminated environmental surfaces; or contaminated air—to prevent the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 virus. Failure to do so may result in the facility receiving citations for placing residents in immediate jeopardy for infection, and considered provision of substandard quality of care, in violation of state and federal regulations .
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures to ensure that the CDC’s guidelines for performing testing and re-testing of HCP, including healthcare personnel supplied by staffing agencies, are implemented. See: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control-recommendations.html
- Train staff on the importance of properly responding to questions about symptoms and reporting respiratory symptoms such as fever, cough, and sore throat associated with COVID-19 infection immediately to their supervisor.
- Periodically audit to ensure that HCP are being tested and re-tested as the CDC guidelines require.
