LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- At least 22 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in nursing homes and other long-term care centers in southern Indiana's Clark and Floyd counties.
In Clark County, 15 residents and six staff members have tested positive for the respiratory illness, and two people have died, according to data from the Clark County Health Department. Four residents have test results pending.
The number of positive cases represents about 20% of all known infections in the county.
The Floyd County Health Department declined to provide figures of COVID-19 cases linked to long-term care facilities or identify where they've occurred, but county health officer Dr. Tom Harris said "more than one" center has had infections.
In a recent online post, Diversicare of Providence says "residents and/or staff members" at the New Albany facility have tested positive for the respiratory illness.
"We are working closely with public health officials to address the situation and are grateful for their assistance," the post says. "We have been in touch with the loved ones of all those who have been impacted, and will continue to do so on a regular basis."
A Diversicare official did not immediately respond to a voicemail message left around 11:45 a.m. Friday.
Laura Lindley, administrator for the Clark County Health Department, declined to provide the number of infections in each facility but said cases have been documented at:
- Wellstone Regional Hospital, a psychiatric hospital and outpatient center in Jeffersonville
- Hillcrest Village, a Jeffersonville nursing home
- Sellersburg Healthcare Center, a senior rehabilitation facility in Sellersburg
- Wedgewood Healthcare Center, a skilled nursing facility in Clarksville
Lindley said Wellstone had the most cases. The News and Tribune reported March 31 that five Wellstone patients tested positive for COVID-19.
Some Indiana nursing homes have been especially hard hit by the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, including Bethany Pointe in Madison County northeast of Indianapolis. At that facility, 24 residents have died after contracting COVID-19 or having related symptoms.
Indiana has confirmed COVID-19 cases in at least 12 nursing homes and other group sites, according to state data provided Wednesday. The 31 deaths in those facilities account for 15% of all Indiana deaths from the illness, said Dr. Kristina Box, Indiana’s health commissioner.
State “strike teams” have fanned out to 200 facilities in the state and tested nearly 600 people there, she said. Those teams have been in both Clark and Floyd counties, according to officials there.
Box has ordered directors of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities such as group homes, jails and prisons to report suspected or known cases of COVID-19 to the state and local health departments within 24 hours.
The order includes employees who test positive for the illness, as well as people who die from COVID-19 or a suspected case, she said.
Indiana previously urged nursing homes to restrict visitors, cease communal dining and activities and screen anyone entering for symptoms.
But as the pandemic has spread, health officials now believe COIVD-19 is being spread by carriers who don’t show symptoms, said Dr. Dan Rusyniak, chief medical officer for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
“This disease creates the potential for a perfect storm in a long-term care facility: Large groups of vulnerable people living together and a highly transmissible virus that may not cause symptoms in those who care for them,” he said.
Copyright 2020 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.
