Franklin County reports two more COVID-19 nursing home deaths, bringing NC total to 43
A Franklin County nursing home with a coronavirus outbreak reported two more COVID-19 deaths Saturday, bringing the number of deaths at the Louisburg Nursing Center to eight.
Three additional people from the facility at 202 Smoke Tree Way have been hospitalized.
Across North Carolina, there have been 36 COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing home facilities that provide nursing or convalescent care, according to new data on the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
COVID-19 outbreaks, defined as two or more people testing positive, also have been reported at 11 residential care facilities across North Carolina. That includes adult, family-care and group homes.
As of Saturday, at least 818 residents at nursing home facilities have tested positive for COVID-19 and 43 have died, according to state data.
The website, however, notes that of the 6,140 confirmed cases and 93 total deaths in the state, it is missing “setting type data” for 2,197 cases and 18 deaths.
Of the cases whose locations are known, nursing homes account for 20 percent of the cases and 29 percent of the 146 deaths.
In addition, 120 people in residential care facilities, have tested positive for COVID-19 with nine related deaths.
Congregate care cases account for 33 percent of the cases and 40 percent of the deaths of the data that included setting information. That includes cases in nursing homes, residential care facilities, jails and prisons and a category labeled “other.”
Gov. Roy Cooper recently issued a new executive order that outlines new mandatory instructions for long-term care facilities. They include halting group meals; taking the temperatures of employees before they enter the building; and increasing the monitoring of residents’ temperatures.
Addressing congregate care outbreaks
On Friday, members of the Franklin County COVID-19 Emergency Operations Center joined a group of other counties in the state working to address congregate care outbreaks, according to a news release. This week, the release states, the Franklin Health Department will reach out to nursing homes and assisted living facilities to ensure they are following the latest guidance and personal protective equipment to manage an outbreak.
Mecklenburg County has reported five nursing home outbreaks. Durham County has reported three, while Orange and Wake have each reported two facilities with outbreaks.
As of Saturday, 105 individuals in three Durham County nursing homes had tested positive, including:
▪ 83 at Durham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
▪ 18 at Treyburn Rehabilitation Center.
▪ Four at Durham VA Healthcare System Community Nursing Home.
Wake County nursing home outbreaks have been reported at Sunny Rehabilitation Center in Raleigh and Wellington Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Knightdale. As of Monday, five cases had been reported at the Raleigh center and 48 had been reported at the Knightdale one. No current information was available on those facilities.
Orange County outbreaks have been reported at PruittHealth-Carolina Point, where four residents who have tested positive have died, and at Signature Healthcare. As of Tuesday, 86 COVID-19 cases had been associated with residents and staff at PruittHealth-Carolina Point and 43 cases had been reported at Signature Healthcare at Chapel Hill.
At the Durham Board of County Commissioners meeting Monday, Durham County Health Director Rodney Jenkins told elected officials that an environmental health specialist visited nursing homes and other facilities before Durham’s numbers started growing. The specialist provided literature and onsite education related to COVID-19.
“I do feel as if, by and large, the majority of the businesses who deal with this fragile population do want to do what is right,” Jenkins said.
Recently, Durham County officials put together a webinar for those facilities that was well attended but also recorded so officials could have something to return to for guidance, he said.
This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 4:20 PM.
