Deaths in assisted-living facilities were significantly higher in 2020 than in 2019, according to a new study.

The findings show the crucial need to pay specific attention assisted living residences in response to pandemics and other emergencies.

While significant attention has been paid to COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, public health leaders have understood less about the effects of the virus in assisted living communities. These settings are also home to older adults who are often at a higher risk for disease severity, but they differ from nursing homes in key ways and present more of a challenge for data collectors.

To address the gap in COVID-19 data, researchers conducted what they say is the first national study of COVID-related mortality in US assisted living communities. The results appear in JAMA Network Open.

“Our study underscores the importance of understanding the unique challenges faced by assisted living communities during a pandemic or other emergency,” says Kali Thomas, an associate professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health. “When responding to a pandemic, assisted living communities need their own preparedness plans. The guidance that’s provided for nursing homes needs to be tailored specifically to this population.”

One important way that assisted living communities differ from nursing homes, Thomas says, is that they’re built on a social model of care rather than a medical model. The communities are designed to resemble a home-like setting, she says, and residents often have the ability to come and go as they please and to host visitors, which could increase the risk of viral transmission.

And because the social model emphasizes choice and independence, residents and their families typically schedule and access medical care on their own and might even be expected to purchase their own medical supplies.

Read the full article about deaths at assisted living facilities by Corrie Pikul at Futurity.