Utah Nursing Home Turned into Dedicated COVID-19 Facility by DPH
After six residents and two staff members at a Utah nursing home tested positive for COVID-19, the Utah Department of Health (DPH) took over management of the facility, turning it into a dedicated COVID-19 care facility. A woman over the age of 85 died from the virus. It is not known how she contracted the virus, but state health officials indicated that this spread of COVID-19 was the first one occurring within a Utah nursing home.
The DOH issued a news release but did not identify the facility. The release explained that initially, all residents in the 134-bed facility were isolated in their rooms; but, as residents tested negative to COVID-19, they were to be transferred to another facility. According to the release, the facility is closely following DOH measures that include “notification of possibly exposed hospice workers and facility staff to monitor closely for symptoms. If symptoms develop, they are to remain excluded from work and to immediately report symptoms to public health for testing as needed.”
Residents in nursing homes across the country have been hit hard by the Coronavirus due to their age and other underlying health conditions, and this raises a red flag for nursing homes across the nation to take note and address their strategies for infection prevention and control. For example, in Colorado, nursing home residents account for nearly one-third of all COVID-19 related deaths; in a Maryland nursing home, 77 of 95 residents contracted the virus; and the first major outbreak of the Coronavirus in the U.S. occurred in a Washington nursing home and resulted in 40 deaths.
Compliance Perspective
Failure by a nursing home to implement infection prevention and control recommendations for residents with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 may result in residents being placed in immediate jeopardy of contracting the Coronavirus and having the state’s DPH assume management of the facility.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures regarding state and federal recommendations for infection prevention and control for residents with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/novel-coronavirus-2019-Nursing-Homes-Preparedness-Checklist_3_13.pdf)
- Train staff members regarding appropriate use and disposal of personal protective equipment (PPE), handwashing hygiene, and separation of residents with COVID-19 from other residents, with consistent assignments for staff providing care only to residents who test positive.
- Periodically audit to ensure that infection prevention and control protocols are being followed by all staff members, and that staff who care for residents testing positive do not care for other residents.
