Long-Term Care group praises Stitt for opposing federal vax mandate

Care Providers Oklahoma Praises Gov. Stitt, AG O’Connor for Opposing Federal Vaccine Mandate on Health Care Workers

OKLAHOMA CITY – After a Capitol press conference today where Gov. Kevin Stitt and Attorney General John O’Connor touted Oklahoma’s opposition to federal vaccine mandates, Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Steven Buck praised the governor and the AG for mounting a strong legal challenge against mandates that would exacerbate the current health care workforce crisis. 

“The focus of our association is to help our members provide vulnerable Oklahomans with excellent care and the best quality of life in the safest environments possible,” said Buck. “At the forefront of that mission is the ability of every skilled nursing facility to field a well-trained and dedicated staff, a task that was difficult heading into the pandemic and has only intensified as it progressed.  Federal vaccine mandates, however well-intentioned, can make finding qualified staff impossible and will negatively impact senior health by forcing providers to stop taking new admissions and, in the direst circumstances, forcing them to close their doors. As I’ve been sharing for weeks, our buildings cannot afford to lose a single team member, and this federal vaccine mandate threatens our ability to provide the most basic of care. We appreciate Governor Kevin Stitt and Attorney General John O’Connor for recognizing the real-world impact of this onerous federal mandate and mounting an aggressive legal challenge."

Buck said the association and individual facilities, while opposing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed vaccine mandate on health care workers (especially since CMS did not offer an alternative pathway for employees, such as more frequent testing), are working hard to get as many residents and employees voluntarily vaccinated as possible. 

State and National Data Show Steep Decline in Nursing Home COVID Cases

State and National Data Show Steep Decline in Nursing Home COVID Cases

Many Facilities Poised to Loosen Visitation Restrictions

OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 26th) – Data released by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) shows that new COVID-19 infections in long-term care (LTC) facilities have fallen to less than 10 percent of rates reported in late 2020. From February 11-18 of 2021, there were 39 new COVID cases among residents, according to data reported by OSDH. In the last week of December 2020, that weekly total was 443.

Additionally, test positivity rates continue to decline. In data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, far fewer Oklahoma counties are listed as “red.” In the last week of December 2020, 29 Oklahoma counties were listed as red counties for high nursing home positivity rates.  In the week ending on February 17, just 11 counties were listed as red.

Most skilled nursing facilities in Oklahoma have now held at least one vaccination clinic, and many have completed the three clinic process. Nationally, upwards of 80 percent of LTC residents have now received at least one dose of the vaccine, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those vaccinations appear to be contributing to declining rates of COVID transmission in nursing homes that are far outpacing the rest of the population, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

Care Providers Oklahoma Statement on Reopening of Long-term Care Facilities

Care Providers Oklahoma Statement on Reopening of Long-term Care Facilities

OKLAHOMA CITY – Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Steven Buck today released the following statement in regards to Governor Kevin Stitt’s executive order allowing for visitation to long-term care facilities to resume in a phased approach effective June 15:

“Throughout this pandemic, Governor Stitt and his administration have communicated with the skilled nursing profession that their desire is to resume visitation as soon as it is safe. Our operators and staff share that desire because restrictions on visitation directly impact quality-of-life for our residents and their loved ones.

“At the same time, we expect this process to unfold cautiously and with an emphasis on safety. Visitors to skilled nursing facilities should expect to see facilities enforcing new measures that impact when visitations can occur, limits to physical contact and proximity to residents, and other safety precautions. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our residents and their families thus far and ask for their continued cooperation in the days, weeks, and months ahead. Ongoing collaboration, including working closely with our colleagues in public health, is necessary to protect the safety of our residents, staff and broader communities.

For Mother's Day, Stitt and Care Providers urge families to contact loved ones in nursing homes

Residents and staff at a Mother's Day photo booth at Elk Crossing Nursing & Rehab in Duncan in 2019.

As Skilled Nursing Facilities Prepare Mother’s Day Celebrations, Governor Kevin Stitt Urges Families to Contact Loved Ones

OKLAHOMA CITY – Skilled nursing facilities across the state are working to bring some joy to their residents this weekend in celebration of Mother’s Day. Even as coronavirus-related restrictions to visitors continue, staff are working to put residents in touch with loved ones, plan celebrations, and treat their residents to various Mother’s Day activities.

At Beacon Ridge Senior Mental Health in Sapulpa, staff are planning a Mother’s Day Tea celebration and facilitating FaceTime visits for moms with their families. At Shawnee Care Center, resident-moms are participating in a “glamor” photo shoot with costume jewelry and feather boas and sending those pictures to family members who are unable to visit. At Bridges facilities across the state, staff are planning Mother’s Day spas and creating slideshows from pictures sent by families.  These are just a few examples of celebrations that will be occurring in skilled nursing facilities across Oklahoma.

“This has been an enormously difficult time for our residents and their families,” said Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Steven Buck. “A Mother’s Day without visitation from family could be a time of sadness, but our staff are working hard to make it a time of celebration and joy.”

Nursing Home advocates call for emergency funding relief to battle COVID-19

Nursing Homes Need Emergency Funding Relief in Battle Against COVID-19

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 4th) – While Oklahoma and many other states are lifting stay-at-home orders and reopening their economies, skilled nursing facilities are still anticipating a long and devastating battle against COVID-19 for their residents and staff. Residents at nursing homes and long-term care facilities are uniquely vulnerable to the virus, and the effort to contain its spread was initially hampered by a lack of access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing. Now, even as those supplies become more readily available, nursing homes continue to face enormous financial hardships related to PPE and staffing costs.

“Many facilities are seeing a 500 percent increase in the cost of PPE, which is not only being sold at marked-up prices but is also being used at a much faster rate than normal,” said Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Steven Buck. “Similarly, some facilities are experiencing double their normal labor costs, as they have worked to hire additional staff and increase compensation for those working directly with COVID-19 patients. The financial situation at our nursing homes is not sustainable. We need help immediately.”

Nursing home advocates ask for assistance in fighting COVID-19

Nursing Home Advocates Ask for Assistance Fighting COVID-19

(April 2nd, 2020) To fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the association representing Oklahoma’s skilled nursing facilities has identified three key policy areas of action for state government. Care Providers Oklahoma says progress on each front is essential in protecting the health and safety of residents and staff.
     
Those areas are:
     
1)   Increased access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Like other health care providers, Oklahoma’s nursing homes are running dangerously low on PPE because of the state’s difficulty in obtaining supplies from the national reserve and significant delays in traditional supply channels. In light of Governor Kevin Stitt’s announcement that Oklahoma has received a significant stockpile of PPE from the federal government, Care Providers Oklahoma requests that an appropriate amount of this gear is delivered immediately to skilled nursing facilities, prioritizing those facilities with residents or staff that have tested positive for COVID-19.
2)   Reducing the spread of COVID-19 from hospitals to skilled nursing homes by requiring negative tests before hospital discharge. At this time, patients can be discharged from hospitals to nursing facilities without a completed COVID-19 test. However, a new report by the CDC finds that, in the case of a facility in Seattle, 57 percent of residents who tested positive showed no symptoms but were likely still contagious. The report highlights the need for all hospital patients discharged into nursing homes to demonstrate through testing that they do not have the virus.
3)   Creation of intermediate treatment facilities for nursing home residents that test positive for COVID-19. Currently, a nursing home resident who tests positive for COVID-19 is either treated in the nursing home, where they can expose vulnerable residents and staff to the disease, or treated at a hospital, many of which are already overburdened. Care Providers Oklahoma is asking the state government to help standup transitional facilities to provide treatment for COVID-19 patients outside of hospitals and nursing homes with healthy populations. There are recently closed skilled nursing facilities that could be repurposed as transitional facilities.

In addition to these important policy steps, prevention of and response to COVID-19 has significantly amplified operational expenses for the procurement of PPE and associated employment expenses. Care Providers Oklahoma joined the American Health Care Association in calling for dedicated national resources to help address these costs and for Oklahoma policy makers to prioritize allocation of enhanced funding to healthcare providers like skilled nursing facilities that are on the front lines of this fight, with temporary emergency add-on payments.
     
“I cannot say enough about our skilled nursing staff, whose actions everyday highlight their bravery, compassion and professionalism,” said Care Providers Oklahoma President and CEO Steven Buck. “Now we need action from the state to ensure these men and women have the equipment they need to be successful. We are requesting these steps so that our elected leaders, agency staff and the public understand exactly what we need to fight this disease. The governor’s decision to utilize the Catastrophic Health Emergency Powers Act today only underscores the need for swift action on these fronts.”

Senate confirms Steven Buck as OJA director

Senate confirms Steven Buck as OJA director

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday unanimously confirmed Steven Buck of Oklahoma City as the executive director of the Office of Juvenile Affairs.

Buck is the first agency director confirmed by the Senate under the terms of new laws that give the governor the ability to hire and fire the heads of OJA and four other top state agencies.

“Oklahoma has come a long way in improving the care and treatment of children in state custody thanks to the work of leaders like Steven Buck. He’s proven himself an honest and dedicated public servant as director of OJA the past few years and I know he’ll continue to do an excellent job in that capacity moving forward. Steven Buck is a great partner for policymakers and I look forward to working with him to continuing to ensure the children in custody get the care and treatment they need to acclimate and become productive members of society,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

Buck was nominated for reappointment as director of OJA by Governor Kevin Stitt earlier this month. He also was named cabinet secretary of human services and early childhood initiatives by the governor.

“Steven Buck has had a long and distinguished career advocating for the treatment and care of some of our state’s most vulnerable citizens. He’s done a great job already at OJA and I know he’ll keep moving that agency in the right direction,” said Senator Jason Smalley, R-Stroud and chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

On Wednesday, the Senate also confirmed Jerome Loughridge of Oklahoma City as the governor’s cabinet secretary of health and mental health.