Nursing Home Administrator Dan Stockdale joins Yahoo Finance Live to share what's happening in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and how staffers are managing the new challenges.

Video Transcript

JEN ROGERS: We all know that nursing homes have been hit incredibly hard by the coronavirus pandemic. It strikes at some of our most vulnerable, and that is where many of them live. I want to bring in Dan Stockdale. He's a certified nursing home administrator, been in this business, and going around now to different properties around the country.

Can you just tell us what the state is at nursing homes right now? Because here in New York, we've had just crazy headlines. You know, 2,000 people have died in these [INAUDIBLE]. Is the situation as bad outside of the New York region?

DAN STOCKDALE: Well, I'll tell you, there are a lot more issues-- well, I'll tell you. Let me back up. The nursing homes across the country are doing a fantastic job. But there are-- the numbers are being squelched. And I think that's because the CDC and the other organizations don't want to give us a state by state tally of how many nursing homes are actually infected.

So it's organizations like ours that are having to go through and actually do that tally ourselves. Last week, we were predicting that well over 10% of the nation's nursing homes have an active case of COVID-19 with a employee or with a resident.

And that was confirmed actually this morning with a report that came out from another independent agency that confirmed that there's over 2,300 nursing homes. So think about that. That's one in six nursing homes across the country from now. And we're projecting that that's going to triple.

JEN ROGERS: Just to follow up real quick, you said the numbers are being squelched. So you think the numbers of people dying in nursing homes right now is underreported?

DAN STOCKDALE: I think the number of cases is underreported. And I'm glad I've made that differentiation. We don't know anything on the death numbers. But I do know that the CDC clearly has in there within their repertoire to be able to give us a list of what homes are affected and how many, at least on a state by state basis, that we're having to go through and gather that data ourselves. So I would say that the number of cases are being squelched right now.

AKIKO FUJITA: And Dan, you talk about how quickly this has spread in nursing homes. I go back to one of the very first cases here in the US, which was the nursing home over in Washington. There's only been a lot of criticism about how some of these homes have handled all of this.

And I know right now they are focused on responding, but I'm wondering, already, as you look to how this community spread has happened and nursing homes being at the center of it, do you think there's need for some kind of regulatory review or some kind of change that maybe these homes overlooked about the potential of how things could spread in a public health crisis?

DAN STOCKDALE: Well, I'll tell you what that happened really is, you know, you've got a virus that where you could have it be asymptomatic-- pass it on to me, I could be asymptomatic. And here we are three weeks later in the nursing home, and a resident who is frail and vulnerable, has some comorbidities, then they all of a sudden become symptomatic, and it just goes from there.

So it's not so much that I believe there's a need for a break from a regulatory standpoint. Indeed, I think that most of the folks across the country aren't giving nursing homes the credit they deserve. We have some spectacular people serving in the industry.

We have, you know, like, Dr. [INAUDIBLE] at the Mayo Clinic saying that these are the least trained people in the country and they're really not. Nursing homes have some exceptionally well-trained people and are going to the furthest lengths possible to protect the elderly right now.

ANDY SERWER: Yeah, Dan, no doubt those people are on the frontlines. But having said that, just sort of maybe following up on what Akiko was saying, what can nursing homes take away from this? What can-- how can they learn from this, and what can they do better to prepare for possibly the next one?

DAN STOCKDALE: Two things, stocking up on your PPE. A lot of-- it's been facility by facility as to whether they've had enough personal protective equipment. So that's number one, and then number two is make sure that you're constantly training on infection control. Most facilities have at least a quarterly and generally a monthly meeting that examines infection control.

But it's important that it doesn't just get looked at and examined during those coffee meetings, but is carried through into the day-to-day, just as much as we in-service on abuse and neglect and those types of things. It has to be at that level.

JEN ROGERS: So aside from the tragic deaths and what this means on a personal level, there's also a number of publicly traded companies. Private equity has moved heavily into this space since the Great Recession. What do you think demand looks like on the other side of this?

Because look, cruise ships are saying we're not going to have as many people coming to cruises. But do you think that people will make a decision to say, you know what? I'm just going to keep my mom and dad home with me because I don't want to go through this.

DAN STOCKDALE: OK, so then you start dipping into my philosophical stance. Other cultures around the world do a fantastic job of taking care of their elderly, and they do take them in. And although I'm in the nursing home business and long-term care, and I want to see the industry be successful, I think it's far better for the greater good of society to bring-- to have the elderly in our homes with us so that they are valued and taken care of.

Now I will say that in nursing homes, there's probably no safer place in the country right now, your local nursing home. There's [INAUDIBLE] going on. You've got staff that are not allowed in the building until they've been cleared by a nurse. You've got a lot of policies and procedures have been implemented.

But definitely, you know, although people in the industry will hate me for saying this, I think if you have the ability to do it, keep momma home.

JEN ROGERS: All right. Wow, Dan Stockdale, certified nursing home administrator, thank you so much for joining us. I know you are busy and have a lot on your hands. But great to get your thoughts on everything that's happening in your industry.

DAN STOCKDALE: Oh, my pleasure. Thanks for having me.