We now know that Covid-19 is not ‘just another flu’ and disproportionately affects our older population. In this episode we address the vulnerability of aged care residents, what factors in our aged care system leave them more at risk, and what can be done to help.

On today’s episode:

~ Why are aged care residents particularly at risk?

~ Nursing homes are designed to be a home rather than hospital - how can they provide hospital level care during this pandemic?

~ What is needed to protect our residents from spread of the virus in nursing homes?

~ We should re-frame our thinking from isolation to protection.

~ What effect will under-resourcing of our aged care system have during the pandemic?

~ What happens when support services for nursing homes become overwhelmed?

Join Prof Joe as he outlines 9 action points to help save lives in nursing homes during this pandemic. These points will each be explored in their own episode each week.

References:

• Vally H. Why are older people more at risk of coronavirus? The Conversation [Internet]. 2020 Mar [cited 2020 Apr 8]. Available from:

  https://theconversation.com/why-are-older-people-more-at-risk-of-coronavirus-133770

• D’Adamo H, Yoshikawa T, Ouslander JG. Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Geriatrics and Long-term Care: The ABCDs of COVID-19. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 Mar [ahead of print]. Available from:

  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32212386

• McMichael TM, Currie DW, Clark S, Pogosjans S, Kay M, Schwartz NG et al. Epidemiology of Covid-19 in a Long-Term Care Facility in King County, Washington. NEJM. 2020 Mar. Available from:

  https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2005412?query=featured_home