Legislation to send more money to nursing homes around the country to help them cope with the COVID-19 pandemic has been co-sponsored in the U.S. House by Congressman Fred Upton. He tells WSJM News the Infection Control Training and Support Act set aside $210 million for nursing homes.
“What’s key right now is that we try to get Republican and Democrat co-sponsors because it’s likely that we’r going to see another funding package move forward next month in the Congress, and if we’re able to get enough co-sponsors, I think we’ll get the attention of the leadership on both sides,” Upton said.
Upton says it is important to give extra help to nursing homes given what we know about COVID fatalities.
“I think that’s something most of us would agree, particularly as we see the alarming statistics now with perhaps as much as a third of these deaths may have come in nursing homes themselves.”
The money would be used by nursing homes to enhance safety. Upton is hoping to see passage of the legislation by August.
