At least 130 residents, employees of area nursing homes have COVID-19

Jul. 12--In Morgan and Limestone counties, at least 130 nursing home residents and employees have COVID-19 and about 200 more are suspected of having the disease.

The numbers, posted by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) through June 28, have likely increased since then as the new coronavirus spreads rapidly through both counties.

It's a dangerous situation, with the Alabama Department of Public Health warning that nursing home residents are among the most likely to die from COVID-19 because of their age and preexisting health issues. Of the more than 50,000 COVID-19 cases reported in the state since testing began, 2,768 are residents and 1,816 are employees of long-term care facilities.

Of the more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths in the state, 79% were 65 years old or above. With few exceptions, the state has banned all visitation at nursing homes and assisted living facilities since March 20.

John Matson, spokesman for the Alabama Nursing Home Association, said the state's numbers have risen drastically the past few weeks but he is encouraged to see some of the 231 nursing homes in the state become coronavirus free.

As of Friday, he said 192 Alabama nursing homes have reported confirmed cases among residents and/or employees.

He said numerous studies show the number of confirmed cases in nursing homes are higher in the towns and areas considered hot spots.

Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed Alabama as one of 15 states where cases have grown dramatically in recent weeks. Morgan and Limestone counties have also seen recent spikes in the daily counts of new cases. Morgan County added 28 cases Saturday, bringing its total to 1,269 and five deaths. Limestone had 26 new cases reported Saturday, bringing its total to 622 with three deaths and a fourth under investigation.

According to CMS statistics through June 28, the four reporting Morgan County nursing homes have 96 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Frank Brown, owner and CEO of USA Healthcare, which owns Decatur Health and Rehabilitation Center and Falkville Health Care Center, on Friday said 68 residents and employees at his two Morgan County facilities have tested positive for the coronavirus.

"We're not happy with one confirmed case," he said. "And we're doing everything to ensure the safety of our residents and our employees. COVID-19 positives in nursing homes generally reflect what is going on in the community around them."

Martha Hale, a retired registered nurse, is at odds with Brown's Falkville facility, saying it is not being transparent with residents' loved ones.

"The nursing home is making residents stay in their rooms," said Hale, whose 89-year-old mother is a resident there. "When we call and ask how many cases of COVID-19 are in the nursing home, they say they aren't allowed to tell us.

"We haven't been able to visit our mother in months. I am angry. I feel like they are keeping us in the dark. The nursing home needs to let the community know what is going on there and not try to hide it."

Brown said his company, which owns seven nursing homes, is transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 cases. He said visitors are not allowed in the nursing home, a restriction mandated by the state, but visitors can meet with residents at designated areas outside.

Matson said health care privacy regulations limit the information that can be released.

"Nursing homes are only allowed to report to the resident's representative," he said. "It's very important the representatives inform the other loved ones. We can't release the information because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)." He reminded resident representatives to keep their contact information updated with nursing homes.

"(In Falkville), we had 19 residents who tested positive with only one symptomatic," Brown said. "We had 16 staff members who tested positive. Five of those employees have subsequently tested negative. Of the 11 other employees, five have alleged to have symptoms."

He said all staff and residents had been retested and he expected to receive the results by this weekend.

"None of the staff have worked since they first tested positive, and all the residents are in isolation pending two negative tests and for 14 days thereafter," he said.

At Decatur Health and Rehabilitation Center, Brown said baseline testing last week revealed that 10 residents tested positive and six of the 10 were symptomatic.

Seventeen staff members at the Decatur facility have tested positive, Brown said, and all are symptomatic. They remain off work and he was awaiting results of retests Friday.

"It is important to note that the science right now says that a person will become symptomatic three to seven days from the date the virus is acquired," Brown said, a characteristic of the coronavirus that has accelerated its spread. People, including nursing home employees, who don't know they are infected can spread the virus to others.

River City Center in Decatur reported 21 confirmed cases among residents and five among staff members through June 28.

Summerford Nursing Home in Falkville reported two confirmed cases and 81 suspected cases among residents and employees through June 28.

Athens Health and Rehabilitation LLC reported no confirmed cases as of June 28, but five residents and 11 staff members were suspected of having the virus at the 149-bed facility.

Senior Rehab and Recovery Center at Limestone Health Facility in Athens reported 23 residents and nine employees had tested positive for the coronavirus.

The lone nursing home facility in Lawrence County, NHC in Moulton, reported zero confirmed cases through June 28. Lawrence County has had 125 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including four new cases reported Saturday.

CMS reported 70 deaths in area nursing homes during the week ending June 28, but none were reported as having been caused by COVID-19.

Matson said the Alabama Nursing Home Association is keeping its members updated with the latest information from state and federal health agencies on COVID-19 prevention.

"We follow social distancing and provide guidance that the staffs have proper personal protective equipment, gowns, masks and even face shields," Matson said. "We're keeping the coronavirus-negative resident groups separated from the positive groups and make sure the two groups don't intermingle."

Brown said his company has set up a sanctuary facility in Cullman where confirmed COVID-19 residents are moved for quarantine to keep them segregated from others.

Matson said the nursing home occupancy rate in Alabama is down about 7% because of COVID-19 concerns.

"Some that have confirmed cases of COVID are not accepting new residents," Matson said. He added the suspension of elective surgeries, and the corresponding drop in post-surgical rehabilitation, had played a major role in occupancy rates declining.

Of the reporting nursing homes in Morgan, Lawrence and Limestone counties, 875 of the 1,073 beds (81.54%) are occupied, according to CMS.

-- mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.

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