Nursing homes have been carrying the heaviest burden of COVID-19 cases and deaths compared to other health facilities both in California and across the nation. According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the state has had a cumulative 29,232 COVID-19-positive nursing home residents and 4,835 coronavirus-related deaths through November 15, 2020.
To better understand the factors behind the spread of COVID-19 in California nursing homes, Cal Hospital Compare (CHC), in partnership with IBM Watson Health and the University of California, San Francisco (collectively known as the CHC Project Team), studied COVID-19 data from more than 800 nursing homes at two points during the pandemic — once in May 2020 and once in August 2020.
The report, Factors Driving COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in California Nursing Homes highlights four major factors driving COVID-19 case and death rates in nursing homes:
- Ownership status
- Nursing home size
- Staffing levels
- Resident demographics
The full report and executive summary on Factors Driving COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in California Nursing Homes are available to download below.