COVID-19 infection rates early in the pandemic among full time clinicians in a home health care and hospice organization

BACKGROUND: Patient-facing health care workers (HCW) experience higher rates of COVID-19 infection, particularly at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, rates of COVID-19 among front-line home health and hospice clinicians are relatively unknown. METHODS: Visit data from a home health care and hospice agency in New Jersey early in the pandemic was analyzed to examine COVID-19 infection rates separately for clinicians exposed to COVID-19-contagious patients, and those without exposure to known COVID-19 contagious patients. RESULTS: Between March 5 and May 31, 2020, among home health clinicians providing in-person care, clinicians treating at least one COVID-19 contagious patient had a case rate of 0.8% compared to 15.7% for clinicians with no exposure to known COVID-19 contagious patients. Among hospice clinicians providing in-person care, those who treated at least one COVID-19 contagious patient had a case rate of 6.5%, compared to 12.9% for clinicians with no known exposure to COVID-19 contagious patients. Non-White clinicians had a higher COVID-19 case rate than White clinicians (10.9% vs 6.2%). DISCUSSION: Lower rates of COVID-19 infection among clinicians providing care to COVID-19-contagious patients may result from greater attentiveness to infection control protocols and greater precautions in clinicians’ personal lives. Greater exposure to COVID-19-contagious patients prior to patient diagnosis (“unknown exposures”) may explain differences in infection rates between home health and hospice clinicians with workplace exposures. CONCLUSION: Clinicians providing in-person care to COVID-19-contagious patients experience lower rates of COVID-19 infection than clinicians providing face-to-face care with no known exposure to COVID-19 contagious patients. Our findings suggest there was a low incidence of potential workplace infections.