Seite - 462 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

VULNERABLE462 Concluding Remarks Privatization has permeated nursing homes in a variety of visible and invisible ways, creating living and working conditions that have proven deadly for residents and staff during this pandemic. Bold responses are needed to correct this course, not just during the current emergency, but going forward, to ensure that the many deaths in this sector have come with important lessons learned. What is needed is a comprehensive, evidence-informed strategy, not only as a short-term response to the pandemic, but as a longer-term approach to create safer and more equitable environments for all who live, work, and visit long-term residential care. We must enforce evidence-informed minimum care standards, stockpile sufficient PPE, create sufficient surge capacity to cope with the next pandemic, and end the siphon- ing-off of care resources to profit. Our elders, and those who care for them, deserve better.