‘A national disgrace’: 40,600 deaths tied to US nursing homes

Yet facilities and government leaders were still unprepared for the onslaught of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Dozens more would die at the facility in Kirkland, Washington. The same staggering loss hit home after home: 81 deaths at the New Jersey Veterans Home at Paramus; 76 deaths at Brighton Rehab and Wellness Center in Pennsylvania; 60 deaths at the Courtyard Nursing Care Center in Massachusetts.

Over the last three months, more than 40,600 long-term care residents and workers have died of COVID-19 – about 40% of the nation’s death toll attributed to the coronavirus, according to an analysis of state data gathered by USA TODAY. That number eclipses a count released Monday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal government’s first attempt at a comprehensive tally. CMS said 25,923 residents had died, but its number only includes federally regulated nursing homes, not assisted living facilities.

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