Connecticut nursing homes will once again be allowed to hire temporary nursing aides as they deal with staffing shortages during the pandemic.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday signed an executive order that revives the state’s nurses aides program that was used last year.
Under the program, the temporary workers will be allowed to provide nursing-related services, but nothing that requires a license.
The governor’s office said the idea is to use those aides to help serve residents who do not have COVID-19, allowing permanent staff to focus on patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The measure also will assure adequate staffing at long-term care facilities, which have struggled with hiring and retaining workers, the governor’s office said.
Connecticut recorded 111 cases of COVID-19 among nursing home patients and 94 cases among staff between Aug. 18 and Aug. 31, according the state Department of Health. There were 16 patient deaths related to the coronavirus during that time and none among staff.
The governor on Friday also extended the deadline for nursing home workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. He has previously ordered that workers in nursing homes, assisted living centers, residential care homes, chronic disease hospitals, intermediate care facilities and managed residential communities be at least partially immunized by Sept. 7.
Under Friday’s revised order, workers must have their first shot by Sept. 27.
The orders came as the state reported a daily increase of 665 COVID-19 cases and eight more hospitalizations, being the total to 365.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Connecticut has risen over the past two weeks from 574.29 per day on Aug. 19 to 632.43 on Sept. 2, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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