NIC’s Skilled Nursing COVID-19 Tracker, featuring the most up-to-date CMS data,* shows that rates of new COVID-19 infections in skilled nursing facilities are rising once again for both residents and staff.

The per-resident rate of new COVID-19 infections increased to 0.50% (50 in 10,000 residents tested positive) for the week ending May 8, 2022, up 0.08 percentage points from May 1 (0.41%) and 0.40 percentage points from just a month earlier (the recent low of 0.10% reported on April 3). Roughly 10% of skilled nursing facilities reported newly confirmed cases among residents on May 8.

Regionally, skilled nursing facilities in the Northeast region reported the highest per-resident rate of new COVID-19 infections at 1.02% (up 0.16pps from May 1 and 0.87pps from April 3), followed by the Midwest (0.42% – up 0.1pps from May 1 and 0.33pps from April 3), the West (0.32% – down 0.06pps from May 1 but up 0.17pps from April 3), then the South (0.25% – up 0.07pps from May 1 and 0.20pps from April 3).

Other highlights from the latest data are noted below.

The high caseload recorded in January 2022 exacerbated staffing shortages due to sickness-related absenteeism among skilled nursing facility workers. However, since January 2022, staffing shortages started to alleviate, and the decline in facilities reporting shortages of nursing staff is likely due to the fast retreat of Omicron and the reduced level of illness among nursing staff. It is still difficult to say whether the industry is in recovery from its pandemic shortage, especially while rates of new COVID-19 infections in the country and within skilled nursing facilities are rising once again.

NIC’s Skilled Nursing COVID-19 Tracker shows the week-over-week change rate for new resident cases of COVID-19 within skilled nursing facilities on a per-facility basis, by geography. The data is displayed in an easy-to-use interactive dashboard that allows sorts down to the county level. The Tracker and Supplemental Data provide an indicator on the rate of virus spread within skilled nursing communities by geographic location, offering a way to better understand where and why cases are spreading, slowing, or remaining flat. Historical data are available back to June 2020.

Visit the NIC Skilled Nursing COVID-19 Tracker for details and the latest data.

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*Data referenced in this blog are based on Skilled Nursing COVID-19 Tracker reports updated and published with the CMS data (cases in skilled nursing facilities) as of May 8, 2022, and CDC data (U.S. cases) as of May 22, 2022.
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This blog was originally published on NIC Notes.

About NIC
The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), a 501(c)(3) organization, works to enable access and choice by providing data, analytics, and connections that bring together investors and providers. The organization delivers the most trusted, objective, and timely insights and implications derived from its analytics, which benefit from NIC’s affiliation with NIC MAP, the leading provider of comprehensive market data for senior housing and skilled nursing properties. NIC events, which include the industry’s premiere conferences, provide sector stakeholders with opportunities to convene, network, and drive thought-leadership through high-quality educational programming. To see all that NIC offers, visit nic.org.