Dr. Ed McManus sits down with nursing home professionals to discuss the past, present, and future of pandemics, COVID-19, and what can be done to improve infectious disease protocols in long-term care facilities moving forward.
Some topics discussed in the video include:
- The history of pandemics in the U.S. and across the globe.
- The different types of coronaviruses and their ability to mutate from animals to humans.
- The timeline of COVID-19 from the first reported case up until today.
- The stages of the infection as it impacts the body.
- Current number of reported infections in the U.S. and New Jersey.
- The most common symptoms.
- Which patients are most at risk.
- The treatment options available including Remdesivir, Dexamethasone, and most importantly, great nursing care.
In regard to current public health concerns, Dr. McManus believes the U.S. has made too many budget cuts, leading to 100,00 less public health workers in service today than 10 years ago. This needs to change to ensure the safety of not only seniors in nursing homes, but the health of the general public going forward. Also, during those same 10 years, the world has had to deal with a number of pandemics – including H1NQ, Ebola, Zika, and now COVID-19 – and we all must work together to stop the spread of emerging outbreaks.
“We need to cooperate with the rest of the world to control outbreaks,” said Dr. McManus. “What happens elsewhere in the world can affect us in a very short time frame. Throughout human history, we have dealt with many pandemics and it is not a question of whether we will have another one, but when. Potential for even more pandemics now with increased global trade and travel.”
When it comes to nursing homes, it’s no secret some facilities have struggled to contain COVID-19 outbreaks throughout the pandemic. The inability to do so has come down to a myriad of reasons – most of which could not have been prevented – but moving forward changes will need to be made to create a safer environment for at-risk seniors. “Nursing homes will need to be redesigned into more of a pod and smaller entity concept,” said Dr. McManus. “Large congregate activities will need to be modified to maintain bubbles, testing will need to be continued on an ongoing and more cost effective basis, and mask wearing will not, and should not, go away.” For more inoformation on this subject, Dr. McManus was also quoted in a recent article for Yahoo! Finance where he discusses the issues nursing homes have faced, and will continue to face, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, all in all, Dr. McManus believes in a brighter future for nursing homes and the world. “We are going to recover and rebuild, but it’s going to be a long process.”
Watch the full video below.