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Kings Mountain nursing home tops state in COVID-19 cases

Gaston Gazette - 9/9/2020

A Kings Mountain nursing home has the highest number of coronavirus cases recorded in care facilities across the state.

White Oak Manor has 168 confirmed COVID-19 cases between staff and residents, and 20 people have died due to the virus, according to a report from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

Despite the alarming number, administrators at the nursing home have been following proper protocols and safety measures, according to local health officials.

"White Oak Manor Kings Mountain has been very diligent about following CDC and NC DHHS guidance, and we have not determined any areas in which they are not complying with guidance and mitigation procedures," said DeShay Oliver, deputy health director with Cleveland County Department of Public Health.

Oliver said staff at the health department communicates with White Oak Manor on a daily basis. Local and state health officials have done walk-throughs of the facility and reviewed policies to look for areas of possible improvement.

Here are some of the steps Oliver said staff members are following to try to prevent the spread of the virus inside the building:

Weekly COVID-19 testing for employees and residents

Daily temperature and symptom screening for employees

Discontinuing communal dining and activities

Requesting emergency staffing to fill in for positive and symptomatic employees to stay home

Creating space dedicated to isolate and care for COVID positive residents

Dedicating staff to care for COVID positive patients to help prevent cross contamination

According to the state report which is updated each Tuesday and Friday, of the 168 cases at the Kings Mountain facility, 110 have been residents, and 58 have been staff.

Though White Oak Manor in Kings Mountain has the highest number of cases in a North Carolina nursing home, it has not recorded the most deaths related to the virus. Silver Bluff Village in Haywood County has had 27 people perish connected to COVID-19.

Requests for comment from White Oak Manor at the local and corporate level were not answered.

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(c)2020 Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, N.C.

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