Onsite Surveys of Nursing Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: March 23-May 30, 2020

We did this review to determine the number and results of onsite State surveys of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and infection control has been a persistent problem for most nursing homes. As of November 8, 2020, more than 67,000 nursing home residents had died of COVID-19-related illnesses, which represented almost 30 percent of all COVID 19 deaths in the United States at that time. Onsite State surveys assess the quality of services in nursing homes, a critical function for protecting residents. CMS changed survey practices in response to the pandemic. These changes—together with nursing home residents' high-risk status and the importance of the State surveys—warrant close examination to assess the sufficiency of this oversight.