Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-11-09)

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BloombergBusinessweek November 9, 2020

without the proper equipment.
Then they’d go work in other
parts of the building. “I felt like
they were putting me in danger,
andI wasputtingtheresidentsin
danger,”Averysays.Shequither
jobinmid­April.
Later that month, after the first
cases were detected at Bethany,
Fersha was given only two dis­
posablesurgicalmaskstoreuse.
Eventually some employees
receivedhigher­end N95 masks,
which can filter out virus parti­
cles.But,accordingtofourstaff
members,themaskswerenever
fit­tested, a critical step to make
sure a proper seal has been estab­
lished. Two of the workers say
they were asked to sign docu­
ments that falsely claimed they’d
receiveda fittest.“N95sdon’tdo
whatthey’remeanttodounless
yougetfit­tested,” saysGreene,the
infection­controlexpert.BethanyCenter
wouldeventuallyrecord 133 infections
and 18 deaths.
Morethan 300 CareRiteworkersin
Tennesseehavecontractedthevirusso
far.Somewhoreportedfeelingillsay
theycameintoworkattheirmanag­
ers’requestanyway.Twosuchemploy­
eessaytheyhadlittlechoice:CareRite
offerednoCovid­specificsickleave.If
aninfectedworkerwantedtobepaid
whilerecuperating,theyhadtodipinto
theirpaidtimeoff,orPTO,account.
AftercomingintosavePTOdays,one
testednegativeforthevirus.Theother
waspositive,potentiallyspreadingit to
residentsandcolleagues.

Asstateshaveattemptedtorestart
theireconomies,andschoolsreopento
studentsforin­person classes, the out­
look for nursing homes is as challenging
as ever. Infections are soaring among
children and younger adults, with the
median age falling from 46  in May to
38 in August, according to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. But
a spike among young adults typically
leads to an increase among their elders,
according to the CDC. Sick kids inevitably
infect their parents and grandparents.

Thespreadofthevirusis especially

troublingforCareRitegivenitsrecent

trackrecord.InNewYork,forinstance,

whereit operatesmorethan3,000beds

at 15 homes,thecompany’s 336 Covid­

relateddeathsrepresenta fatalityrate

that’s75%higherthantheaveragefor

nursinghomesinthestate.InFloridaits

73 fatalitiesatfourhomesis alsoabove

theaverage.Acrossallofitsfacilities,

atleast 499 peoplelivingorworkingat

CareRitehavediedfromthevirus.

Evenso,CareRite’sTennesseefacil­

itiesarenowpitchingthemselvesas

virusexperts. OnJuly 17, Trevecca

Centerannouncedit wouldbegintaking

inCovid­positivepatientsfroma nearby

assistedlivingfacility.“Asa trustedpart­

neroftheTennesseeDepartmentof

Health,wehavehadtheopportunity

toshowcaseouroutstandingclinical

capabilitiesthroughouttheCovid­ 19

pandemic,”declaredTrevecca’sYoung

ina pressrelease.A healthdepartment

spokesmansaysthedepartmentisn’t

awareofanypartnership.

The decision to take in Covid

patientsperplexesCliffMcGill,whose

93 ­year­old mother, Anna Ruth, has

been at Trevecca for the past three years

and has tested negative for the virus so

far. Even before the virus hit, McGill

worriedabouthismom.Thefacility

hadseemedshort­staffed.Sometimes

herfingernailswouldbefilthyorthey’d

forgethermilkatlunch.Whenthevirus

struck,communicationwaslacking.

“We learned about the infections on the

news,” he says. Later the home moved

Anna Ruth to another room without tell­

ing him, leaving him unable to reach her

for a while. The prospect of Trevecca

seeking out more Covid patients wor­

ries him. Says McGill: “I want to know

they can take care of the people who are

already there.”

AtCareRite’sBethanyCenter,some

employeesandtheirfamiliessayhis

concerniswell­founded—and not just

for residents. After Fersha, the nurse’s

aide,wasassignedtoworkwithCovid

patients,hefeltfineatfirst.Heeven

gota thank­you card from his superiors

praising his teamwork and calling him a

“superhero.” But at the end of May, he

had aches and a bad cough. He stopped

going to work and began dipping into

thePTOhe’daccruedovertheyears.

Eventually,hiswife,Eshete,took

him to a drive­thru testing center.

Fersha was positive. Over the next few

days his condition worsened, and on

June 10 heandEshetecalledCareRiteto

letthecompanyknow.Eshetesaysher

normallysoft­spoken husband, a devout

Christian who spent much of his free

time reading the Bible, lost his compo­

sure. “You did me like this,” he told his

supervisor. “Every time, you sent me to

work with the Covid patients. You didn’t

rotate me.”

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” the

supervisor answered, according to

Eshete. By the following day, Fersha was

struggling to breathe and was admitted

to a hospital. He remained there, run­

ning through most of what was left of

his PTO. On July 7, he died.

After Fersha’s death, Bethany Center

gave Eshete $1,500, and a manager

urged her to call if she needed anything.

Eshete called a couple of weeks later to

say she was struggling to pay her bills

on the $16.58 per hour she made as a

machine operator. The manager apolo­

gized and said CareRite wouldn’t be able

to help with that. <BW>

Tim Horton