"Nursing home residents and staff have been especially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," a new report from the Office of the Inspector Gener at the Department of Health and Human Services stated.

Nursing homes had "monumental and ongoing staffing challenges." They included "significant loss of staff" and problems in hiring, training, and retaining new staff. "Many nursing homes used outside staffing agencies to fill gaps, which had significant downsides. Nursing homes continued to struggle with costs, testing protocols, personal protective equipment (PPE) compliance, and vaccination rates after initial challenges were resolved."

The OIG had the following recommendations:

• Implement and expand upon its policies and programs to strengthen the nursing home workforce.
• Reassess nurse aide training and certification requirements.
• Update the nursing home requirements for infection control to incorporate lessons learned from the pandemic.
• Provide effective guidance and assistance to nursing homes on how to comply with updated infection control requiments.
• Facilitate sharing of strategies and information to help nursing homes overcome challenges and improve care

This is the third in a three-part series of reports.