‘A ray of hope’: Nursing homes on brink of crisis wait for vaccines

ROSWELL, Ga. — The coronavirus pandemic has taken a huge toll on businesses in every aspect of everyday life, but one industry that has been especially hard hit is nursing homes.

The homes are often where the most susceptible victims are located, those over the age of 65. Nursing homes have not only had to deal with infected residents, the financial fallout has caused many to go out of business.

[SPECIAL SECTION: Coronavirus Pandemic in Georgia]

Channel 2 anchor Justin Wilfon spoke with Zackrey Ceasar, whose mother Joan lives in a Roswell nursing home. Ceasar said he hasn’t gotten to see or hug her since the initial outbreak in February.

“She’s doing pretty good. When the country shut down back in February... and now we’re here in December, that’s how long it’s been since I held my mother in my arms,” Ceasar said.

Zackrey Ceasar and his wife Angel have only been able to talk does his mother via video chat or through a window, like so many other families with a loved one in long term care.

They hope the vaccine, a simple shot, might bring them back together. Zackrey’s mom, and thousands of other nursing home residents, will be some of the first to get a new coronavirus vaccine.

“We want to make sure that regardless, she’s safe, everyone around us is safe,” Angel Ceasar said. “And so if it means being vaccinated, that’s what we will do so we can be with her again. Even just knowing that there could be something right around the corner gives us hope. A lot of hope.”

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Wilfon also spoke with Tony Marshall, president of the Georgia Healthcare Association. The organization represents long-term care facilities all across the state.

Marshall says in 2019, there were roughly 34,000 residents living in Georgia’s long-term care facilities, but right now, the number stands at less than 28,000. He says that drop is costing facilities over a million dollars a day in lost revenue.

“There’s no question that COVID has had a very significant negative impact on the well-being of many of the providers in this state. The last eight months have probably been the most trying time in the history of long term care,” Marshall said.

Marshall said that almost 3,000 nursing center residents have died due to COVID-19 complications while others have just moved out. He says that has caused several facilities to close, and many others are on the verge of doing the same thing.

If or when a vaccine is distributed, Marshall says it may help keep some nursing facilities open open.

“The vaccine coming simply offers an opportunity to have some ray of hope,” said Marshall.

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Wilfon did find that some facilities in Georgia did get money from the federal stimulus, while others got PPP loans. The Healthcare Association says most are still pushing the state and federal government for more financial help. Officials said the vaccine will help, but not solve all their problems.

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