Highly rated Triangle nursing homes report new coronavirus outbreaks
Three well regarded Wake County nursing homes have reported new coronavirus outbreaks since last week, data released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Wake County show.
Two staff members have tested positive for the virus at UNC Rex Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center of Raleigh, and two residents have tested positive at Windsor Point Continuing Care Retirement Community in Fuquay-Varina, according to the state data.
The UNC Rex nursing home has an above-average federal rating, and Windsor Point was rated “much above average.”
An outbreak has also been identified at PruittHealth-Raleigh, according to a news release from Wake County.
The state health department considers a congregate living facility to have an outbreak when two or more residents or staff test positive for the coronavirus.
People living in congregate settings are especially vulnerable to contracting the virus because it passes easily from person to person in close quarters. Elders and people with chronic health problems are most likely to have serious complications or die from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. People 75 or older make up more than 60% of the reported deaths so far attributed to COVID-19 in North Carolina.
One-quarter of the state’s nursing homes have a current outbreak.
The nursing home with the largest number of cases is The Citadel Salisbury, where 114 residents and 54 staff have caught the virus and 18 residents have died.
The deadliest nursing home outbreak in the state is at Aston Park Health Care Center in Asheville, where 30 residents have died.
In addition to UNC Rex of Raleigh and Windsor Point, three other Wake County nursing homes have current outbreaks.
- Sunnybrook Rehabilitation Center, with 48 cases and six deaths
UNC Rex Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center of Apex, with 40 cases and four deaths
Wellington Rehabilitation and Healthcare, with 81 cases and 14 deaths
Windsor Point Continuing Care Retirement Community in Fuquay-Varina, two cases and no deaths
In Durham County, there are four ongoing nursing home outbreaks.
- Carver Living Center, with 99 cases and nine deaths
- Durham Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, with 111 cases and 17 deaths
- Pettigrew Rehabilitation Center, with two cases and no deaths
- Treyburn Rehabilitation Center, with 98 cases and 21 deaths
In Orange County, three nursing homes have a current outbreak.
- Parkview Health and Rehabilitation Center, with five cases and no deaths
- PruittHealth-Carolina Point, with 112 cases and 20 deaths
- Signature HealthCARE of Chapel Hill, with 84 cases and 20 deaths
Outbreaks in assisted-living facilities have generally been smaller and less deadly, at least in part because residents more often have their own room. In the Triangle, three facilities have ongoing outbreaks.
- Brookdale Wake Forest, with 13 cases and three deaths
- Brookridge Assisted Living, with nine cases and no deaths
- HeartFields at Cary, with two cases and no deaths
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 6:16 PM.