The New Hampshire Senate Health and Human Services Committee has signed off on a bill that would transfer an additional $25 million in federal aid to long term care facilities in the state.
The proposal, which was introduced as an amendment to existing legislation dealing with healthcare-associated infections, would also hire an outside firm to conduct an independent review of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected such facilities — and provide recommendations for how the state might prepare them for a second wave of the virus.
Long term care facilities have borne the brunt of the outbreak in New Hampshire, accounting for 82 percent of all coronavirus deaths. According to newly compiled federal data, COVID-19 had infected residents in almost a quarter of New Hampshire's nursing homes as of May 31. Many facilities have also reported shortages of protective gear, such as medical gowns and N-95 masks.
