The Striking Racial Divide in How COVID-19 Has Hit Nursing Homes
A collaboration between The New York Times, Baltimore Sun, LAist, and the Southern Illinoisan explored the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on nursing homes whose residents were majority people of color. The Times gathered data on infection reports from state and local health agencies and joined the information to databases of information about facilities, including the federal government’s Nursing Home Compare data and Brown University’s Long Term Care Focus data. The analysis showed that homes with a significant number of Black and Latino residents have been twice as likely to be hit by the coronavirus as those where the population is overwhelmingly white. Additionally, small nursing homes, which are disproportionately occupied by white residents, tend to have fewer outbreaks than larger facilities, and urban nursing homes have more outbreaks than suburban or rural ones. To better understand the disparities in Maryland, California, and Illinois, The Times teamed up with the other outlets to interview dozens of current and former nursing home workers, residents, and their relatives.