A piece published in Health Affairs blog entitled “How Will We Care For Coronavirus Patients After They Leave The Hospital? By Building Postacute Care Surge Capacity” notes the need to build capacity for postacute care for COVID-19 survivors by expanding the ability and access to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and home health agencies (HHAs).
The authors estimate that at least 700,000 survivors of COVID-19–related hospitalization “will require inpatient short-stay rehabilitative care and that 10 million more may require other outpatient rehabilitative services.” Current capacity is lacking. To meet this demand, SNF beds, staff, and supplies need to be increased in order to accommodate this surge. The authors suggest increasing the capacity by doing the following: “expand home-based postacute care offerings; train a new workforce to care for patients who are recovering from COVID-19; and designate specialized SNFs or alternative care settings specifically for patients who have suffered from COVID-19.”