OU Medicine Expert: Taking Temperature Of Nursing Home Health Care Workers Creates False Sense Of Security

As the number of deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) cases rise in nursing homes in Oklahoma, medical experts on Friday offered more solutions to stop the spread to vulnerable citizens.

Just like hospitals, nursing homes are not allowing visitors. The only problem with that is health care workers and other employees can still bring in the deadly virus.

“You just have to assume that everybody’s infected until proved otherwise,” said Dr. Dale Bratzler, OU Medicine.

Right now, anyone who enters a nursing home is screened for COVID-19. The best defense they have is to take the temperature of medical staff and other employees and ask about possible symptoms.

OU Medicine’s Dr. Dale Bratzler said that only creates a false sense of security.

“A health care worker who may have been exposed outside in the community somewhere,” said Bratzler. “Who gets infected and then goes to work and may very well be able to spread the virus before they even know they have the infection.”

A person can be asymptomatic for four to five days before they feel sick. That is too late when it comes to protecting an at-risk community.

“In Oklahoma 70% of the deaths that have occurred have occurred in patients that are 65 years of age or older,” said Bratzler. “So, age is a clear factor. So, in a nursing home that’s a huge problem.”

He said the best way to stop the spread in nursing homes is to continue to use hand hygiene and wear personal protective equipment or PPE.

“I think you’re going to see new guidance come out about wearing masks,” said Bratzler. “And I think it’s very, very reasonable for anybody working in a health care setting to wear a mask to both protect the patients and the coworkers around them.”

Bratzler said masks should be worn by not only medical staff but nursing home administrators, as well as kitchen and cleaning crews.