15 SLO County residential care facilities have had COVID-19 outbreaks. Here’s what we know
San Luis Obispo County has had at least 15 coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and residential care facilities, public health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said.
But county public health officials said they can’t release specifics on where or how many people have been affected.
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, residential living facilities and nursing homes, have been a hotbed for coronavirus.
According to California Department of Public Health data, a total of 15,1762 skilled nursing facility residents and 12,202 skilled nursing facility workers have had coronavirus as of Thursday, not including other types of residential living facilities.
State data also shows nearly 40% of California’s 8,027 coronavirus-related deaths have been tied to skilled nursing facilities alone.
“This is absolutely one of our biggest worries in congregate care living situations,” Borenstein said at a July 15 news briefing. “With any one case, be it from a resident or a staff member, it puts everyone in the facility at risk.”
Congregate care facilities include skilled nursing facilities or long term care facilities, which are licensed by the California Department of Public Health, and adult assisted living facilities and residential facilities for the elderly, which are licensed by the state Department of Social Services.
Locally, three people who lived in residential care facilities for the elderly — a person in their 90s, a 52 year-old with significant underlying health conditions, and a 61 year-old with significant underlying health conditions — have died due to COVID-19.
And two skilled nursing facility residents in their 80s — one who was already on hospice care for other underlying health conditions and one who was hospitalized after being released from a care facility with an outbreak — have died while positive for coronavirus.
No deaths have been reported among local residential or skilled nursing facility workers.
The CEO of Compass Health, which owns and operates all seven skilled nursing facilities in the county, wrote in an email to The Tribune that it has becoming increasingly difficult to keep residents and employees safe.
As of Thursday, the county had 1,467 coronavirus cases with a recent uptick in daily case counts, according to ReadySLO.org.
“It has become clear, based on our (community’s) lack of vigilance, all care providers are going to battle this virus for many months to come,” Smith wrote. “We are experiencing daily issues with staff coming to management with COVID positive contact concerns.”
On July 15, Borenstein said the 15 facilities range from residential living facilities for the elderly, skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities.
“We are unable to provide exact locations and names of facilities but they have occurred in all parts of the county,” Public Health Department spokeswoman Michelle Shoresman wrote in an email to The Tribune.
Many of the outbreaks at congregate care facilities were reported in recent weeks, according to Borenstein.
While the county has not identified a specific trend, county public health officials said it was anticipated.
“As the county has re-opened and community transmission has increased, it was expected case counts would increase in every business sector and particularly in congregate care settings,” Shoresman wrote.
Where are SLO County COVID-19 outbreaks?
On Wednesday, Compass Health, one of the county’s largest private healthcare providers, announced that one of the residents at Vineyard Hills Health Center in Templeton who was on hospice care died after testing positive for coronavirus.
According to the skilled nursing facility, COVID-19 is not believed to be the leading cause of the person’s death as the person had recently been hospitalized for other underlying health conditions.
In addition to the resident who died, seven other Vineyard Hills residents and two skilled nursing employees also tested positive for COVID-19.
Another resident in their 80s with underlying health conditions died from COVID-19 on Thursday. The resident was hospitalized for three days after being released from a long term residential facility that recently had a COVID-19 outbreak, according to the county.
The county did not release the name of the facility and Compass Health has not released a statement about the recent death as of Thursday.
In April, two employees at Vineyard Hills Health Center also tested positive for coronavirus. And another Compass Health employee tested positive at Danish Care Center in Atascadero in May.
The California Department of Public Health has also listed San Luis Transitional Care in San Luis Obispo as a skilled nursing facility with coronavirus patients.
However, Smith said that the care center has been closed for months and no residents tested positive at the facility. He said he is unsure of why the state health department data shows otherwise.
As for residential care facilities for the elderly, only two have been named.
In June, the county Public Health Department said residents at the Vista Rosa assisted living facility in San Luis Obispo tested positive for coronavirus.
The agency said releasing the specific name of the facility was a mistake.
“That was just an error,” Shoresman wrote when asked about why only one facility has been named. “We don’t usually give names. We had not provided names before that, nor since.”
The county also confirmed two facility outbreaks in early July — one at a facility for the elderly in North County, and another at a San Luis Obispo facility for adults with developmental disabilities. However, the county didn’t name those facilities.
According to the California Department of Social Services, at least one person who has died from COVID-19 locally lived at Vista Rosa and at least one employee has also tested positive.
The Department of Social Services also shows that at least one coronavirus-related death was reported at Ingleside Park Assisted Living, Inc., in Atascadero. Cases have been reported among residents and employees as well.
The other 10 or more congregate care facilities have not been named specifically by the county.
Coronavirus cases have also been reported at the California Men’s Colony, where 11 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19, and the San Luis Obispo County Jail, where four inmates and two correctional deputies had tested positive, as of Thursday.
How many people have been affected?
All four named congregate care facilities have had 11 or fewer reported cases among residents and employees, according to state data. The California Public Health Department and Department of Social Services do not provide exact numbers on locations with less than 11 cases.
Eight skilled nursing facility residents and five employees across two facilities have tested positive for coronavirus, according to Compass Health.
According to Social Services data, 20 employees at residential care facilities for the elderly and 12 residents have tested positive for coronavirus as of July 21. This total does not include the number of employees or residents who have tested positive at skilled nursing facilities or other forms of congregate care facilities.
In total, five residents who have lived at residential living and skilled nursing facilities have died with or from COVID-19.
The county couldn’t provide the total number of congregate care residents or employees that have tested positive because of their current data collection system, according to an email from Shoresman.
The number of active cases among the residential living, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities remains unclear. According to Borenstein, around six total congregate living facilities still have cases.
“As of yesterday, out of a dozen of these types of outbreaks we’ve had, we’ve already cleared half of them,” Borenstein said at the Wednesday news briefing.
What happens when there is an outbreak?
Once a person who either lives or works at a congregate care facility tests positive for COVID-19, the county will work with the facility to conduct widespread testing and quarantine those who have tested positive and who may have been exposed, according to the county.
“We’re working very closely with all these facilities and they really are stepping up to try to make sure that when they do get cases, they limit the spread within the facility,” Borenstein said.
The county will test the entire staff and residents at the facility each week at the facility until everyone tied to the facility tests negative.
“We continue to see new outbreaks on a weekly basis and we are able to continue with our Public Health Laboratory capacity to address those in an immediate fashion,” Borenstein said Wednesday. “We’ve been able to keep up with the demand of repeat testing until a facility is cleared.”
Other procedures to help limit the spread when coronavirus cases pop up at facilities is pausing new admissions and having people stay in their rooms if necessary, according to Borenstein.
Each facility also has procedures in place to avoid potential outbreaks among vulnerable populations.
Compass Health, for example, requires employees to wear masks and prohibits them from working at multiple locations.
The company’s locations have also designated on-site infection preventionists and separated all residents into smaller units to limit chances for cross contamination in the event of a confirmed case, according to a news release.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
