The Botinau County Nursing Home, which has a total of residents, about 75 staff members and 48 licensed beds, has more than half of its residents and about a third of its employees have CIVID-1 cases, the facility’s administrator said. The epidemic has erupted as rural virus outbreaks have spread to other parts of North Dakota, and nursing homes have fueled a recent surge in the state.
And while the North Dakota health department said it could not address the business of those who died from the coronavirus, the death of a staff member in Good Samaritan could be the first confirmed death of a North Dakota health care worker. Virus.
Sara Samaritan’s administrator, Mitch Luppe, said he could not speak with any clarity about the death of his staff member, but said he hoped the worst was behind his facility. “We are very optimistic that we will tumble and things will start to slow down,” he said, adding that many of the positive employees are nearing the end of their quarantine and should return to work soon.
So far, the good Samaritan State Emergency Medical Response has managed to thank the entire staff for the help of the corps, sending healthcare workers to state facilities in need of reinforcement, as well as for the extra hand of the statewide Good Samaritan Society. .
Good Samaritans managed to remain largely insulated from the virus for most epidemics, but the recent spike in the case of the virus has outpaced the facility. In the last two and a half weeks, seven residents and one staff member have all died.
Luppe reported that the nursing home has seen a total of 37 positive residents since March, but most of those cases have only come in the last few weeks. Twenty residents and 24 staff members are currently reporting active funds.
“We had very few asymptomatic cases,” Leap added. “Almost all of our cases have become symptomatic.”
The extreme circumstances of Botinau, a small town in north-central North Dakota, are an example of what has become a catastrophic event in the last month of the epidemic in the state’s nursing homes. Since the first day of September, residents of nursing homes in the state’s long-term care facilities have died of covid-related complications, according to health department spokeswoman Nicole Peske, half of the total number since the epidemic began. And 12 of those deaths occurred in the first two days of October.
“At this point, it seems everyone’s turn is coming,” said Shelley Peterson, president of the North Dakota Long Term Care Association, which represents and lobbies on behalf of long-term care facilities around the state. “It’s not like you’re going to get it. When you get it.”
Neither the North Dakota Department of Health nor its human services department, which oversees long-term care, will comment on specific features, so it’s not clear how the mortality rate in Good Samaritan compares to other nursing homes in the state. Last month, the forum reported eight deaths at the same facility over the past few weeks, which is similar to the death count in Sara Samaritan, but is longer spread.
Sara Samaritan has issued personal protective devices to all its employees and distinguished COVID-19 positive residents in the wing of its facility, where some residents are sharing rooms with other coronavirus patients.
But the facility has also had to send some residents experiencing severe symptoms to hospitals for more intensive treatment. Four good Samaritan residents are currently hospitalized, although Luppe said many of them are fit and are expected to return to good Samaritan soon.
Peterson stressed that nursing home staff and the state have done everything in their power to prevent the spread to these facilities. “They are doing everything right. They work day and night. They have a good practice of infection control.” He added that the spikes of the COVID-19 case in nursing homes have a direct relationship with the community outside the facility.
The Department of Health reported 46 active COVID-19 cases in Botinau County, but it lists a total of 45 cases in the Good Samaritan facility alone. Peske said the disproportionate numbers inside the nursing home could be traced by staff members who live in neighboring countries, whose positive tests do not contribute to Botinau County statistics.
A total of 153 covid-related deaths have been reported in nursing homes since the epidemic began by the health department, more than half of the total 264 deaths from the virus in North Dakota.
Peterson said there are still many unanswered questions about how the virus is coming into their facilities in nursing homes.
“We don’t know,” she said. “We are making every effort to identify the source and eliminate it.”
The report for a member of the American Corps, Forum reporter Adam Dum Willis, readers can reach at [email protected].
