$300 a week extra earmarked to keep state nursing homes staffed
Paula Tracy INdepthNH.org 10:38 a.m.
CONCORD - With four new nursing home deaths and 73 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported Tuesday, Gov. Chris Sununu announced an incentive to "stem the flow" of front-line nursing home workers leaving their jobs. As early as Wednesday, an estimated 25,000 workers in nursing homes and extended-care facilities will be able to go online to the state Department of Employment Security to receive an immediate additional $300 a week in pay going forward through the pandemic through the new state Long-term Care Stabilization Fund. There are approximately 6,600 workers at these health-care facilities, from janitors to food service providers to nurses and doctors who can take advantage of this testing at no cost. Regional Partners Sununu also said he is working on a regional partnership with the governors of Vermont, Maine, and Massachusetts to begin discussions on how and when to move together to open up society, similar to other regional discussions going on across the country. Regionally, Strafford County coronavirus cases rose by nine to 69, while locally, Dover is listed with 20-49 cases, Rochester, Somersworth and Barrington with 5-9 and Milton and Farmington at 1-4.
Chan said more testing of front-line health-care workers could help slow the spread of the virus and he welcomed the partnership with ConvenientMD. Chan said the state is "far from a position of being able to contain the virus" though he is seeing signs that the number of cases is plateauing, that the hospitals are managing with the number of new admissions about equaling the number of discharges. He said the state has tested 11,847 people. In the past few days, the number of cases have been lower than Tuesday's 73, but Chan noted that about 30 of the confirmed cases were reported from entities out of state including Massachusetts, which tested New Hampshire residents and relayed that information. Of the total 1,091 cases, about 15 percent of the New Hampshire COVID-19 patients have required hospitalization. While overall numbers of cases have increased, Chan said there is evidence that social distancing efforts are working. "The daily number of cases has started to plateau," Chan said. Sununu said the $300 a week for the nursing home care providers is critical as the most vulnerable citizens to this virus, and the ones who have suffered a majority of the fatalities, are their patients who need them. "We need those workers there," Sununu said. "These are critical facilities." This is an emergency action in using state general funds which will be reimbursed by the federal government. He called it an innovative way that the state is dealing with the virus and moving quickly as moments count and the state cannot wait for the federal government to move. The governor also responded to questions about the lawsuit filed which seeks to disband his new office for emergency relief. He said the new office, which includes ranking Democrats, will be fully transparent and work much quicker than the legislature can act to put the resources where they are needed. "We are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic when minutes matter," Sununu said. "To put the handcuffs on this office, doesn't make much sense." U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H, a negotiator of the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security or CARES Act, argued that the continued operation of New Hampshire's airports is needed to ensure essential workers and supplies reach the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Throughout this crisis, delivering desperately needed assistance to New Hampshire has been my top priority," said Shaheen. "These resources will provide urgent relief to help our airports weather this storm so they can continue to operate and provide Granite Staters with transportation options once this pandemic is behind us." Sununu said: "That's terrific news," adding he had not yet heard it. Paula Tracy writes stories for the news nonprofit INdepthNH.org
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