Troubled Beverly Nursing Home Short On Staff, Equipment

BEVERLY, MA — A Beverly nursing home that has already been criticized by patients' families for its coronavirus response is understaffed but continues to take on new patients.

In interviews and email exchanges, patients' family members and workers at CareOne at Essex Park in Beverly say the facility has downplayed how hard the new coronavirus has hit the facility, and that about 40 people have died after contracting the virus at the nursing home. They also describe conditions where the already short staff are being forced to work even after they begin to show COVID-19 symptoms.

"I understand people are going to die, but they shouldn't have to die like this," said Steve Morong, whose father had been in and out of the facility since late December before being transferred to Beverly Hospital last week after showing coronavirus symptoms. Morong's father ended up testing negative.

CareOne officials have not responded to several requests for comment since Beverly Patch first reported on problems at the nursing home earlier this month. The New Jersey-based company operates more than 70 nursing homes and assisted living facilities, most of which are in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Virginia.

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Workers say CareOne at Essex Park in Beverly has closed its short-term care unit because of the staffing shortage and moved patients in that unit to the long-term care unit. CareOne's dementia unit has been converted into a segregation area for patients who have the coronavirus.

Workers also said the facility was taking on new patients, even as some workers have started bringing their own personal protective equipment to work because of shortages of masks, gloves, gowns and face shields.

Case Count, Death Toll Higher Than Reported

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health said in its report Sunday that the 202-bed facility had more than 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The department has declined to provide more specific breakdowns for nursing homes, citing patient privacy rules. The state did not require nursing homes to submit data on coronavirus-related deaths until April 6 and has not publicly released the number of deaths for individual facilities.

But a staff member at CareOne at Essex Park said the number of cases and deaths is higher than what is being reported to the state, because managers have transferred several patients to Beverly Hospital before they could be tested. The employee estimated that 40 residents have died, either at the facility or at Beverly Hospital, after contracting COVID-19 at CareOne.

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"If they are sent to the hospital and die at the hospital, it does not count as a death for the facility," said the worker, who asked not to be identified. "Same with COVID numbers. Our numbers are higher than reported because if they were tested at the hospital, the hospital gets the COVID positive, not the nursing home."

That account is similar to interviews Patch conducted earlier this month with family members of patients who said their loved ones were taken to Beverly Hospital when they started showing symptoms for the new coronavirus.

"They don't test at all. They just ship them to the hospital," Morong said. "They're trying to make themselves look better."

On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker said the state would begin requiring testing of all nursing home patients and staff. Fifty-six percent of the state's reported coronavirus-related deaths have been at nursing homes and long-term care facilities and more than 10,000 residents and staff have tested positive.

Staff Shortages, Illnesses Are A Problem

The employee also estimated that 30 staff members either had COVID-19 or were showing symptoms of the disease. In a message sent to patients' families Wednesday, CareOne said 18 staff members had tested positive for COVID-19.

The worker said employees are required to work for seven days after they begin showing symptoms, and they are not being given sick time if they are unable or unwilling to work after contracting COVID-19. The worker said managers had discouraged employees from getting tested even if they showed symptoms.

Staffing shortages at Massachusetts nursing homes were a problem before the coronavirus surge. The job vacancy rate was 17 percent on March 1 and had increased to 40 percent, or 12,000 jobs, as of last week, according to the Massachusetts Senior Care Association. That number is expected to increase as the Massachusetts National Guard conducts more testing at nursing homes.

"The more we test the more we have a staffing problem," Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, told Commonwealth Magazine.

CareOne started paying employees an extra $4 per hour on April 5 and said the hazard pay bump would continue for four weeks. Some employees are also being offered bonuses if they do not miss any shifts.

More Coronavirus Coverage On Massachusetts Patch:

• Many MA Residents Still Waiting For Coronavirus Stimulus Checks
• As Unemployment Claims Mount, Massachusetts Fund Dwindles
• Coronavirus Case Counts For Every Massachusetts Town

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).