Fresh outbreaks of COVID-19 have occurred at two local long-term care facilities, with 26 positive cases reported at the Perry Lutheran Homes and 26 positive cases at the Woodward Resource Center.
The Iowa Department of Public Health website indicated Tuesday that 26 positive cases of the SARS-CoV-2 virus were identified at the Perry Lutheran Homes. The department’s data did not indicate which campus was affected — Willis Avenue or Spring Valley — or how many of the positive cases are staff members and how many residents.
The Perry Lutheran Homes serves about 110 residents at its two campuses and employs about 120 full-time and part-time staff members.
“My family member is in a shared room with an infected person,” someone with a loved one at the Willis Avenue campus of the Perry Lutheran Homes told ThePerryNews.com Tuesday. “Now our family member is running a fever.” The person spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mollie A. Clark, marketing director for the Perry Lutheran Homes, said the IDPH numbers were reported Sept. 22 and are now out of date. Clark said current numbers at the Willis Avenue campus are as follows:
- Residents Positive: 12
- Residents Recovered: 13
- Staff Positive: 6
- Staff Recovered: 1
“We continue aggressive and comprehensive testing protocols and continue working with health officials to make sure that we are using the latest safety techniques, protocols and procedures,” Clark said. “Because there is greater understanding of the virus and better treatments than there were early on, we are hopeful that any impacted residents will be able to recover sooner and with greater ease.”
The Perry Lutheran Homes is the last long-term care facility in Perry to experience an outbreak. The Pearl Valley Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center saw an outbreak in late April, and the Rowley Masonic Community suffered an outbreak in mid-May.
“We did everything we could to keep it from entering Perry Lutheran Homes’ care communities for as long as we could,” Clark said.
According to a letter released Wednesday by the Woodward Resource Center (WRC), the state-run facility currently has 14 staff members with positive test results and 12 positive residents.
A WRC employee who requested anonymity said the 11 staff-member infections have occurred within the last 10 days, and the infected residents “have been taken into close observation and treatment care in an isolated housing unit on the WRC Campus.”
The worker said the WRC conducts daily temperature and symptom checks of all employees of all shifts and in all departments and requires all staffers to wear face coverings while performing work duties. Residents also receive routine temperature checks, the worker said.
The Woodward Resource Center is home to 129 residents and some 500 employees.
Perry’s three nursing homes and the Dallas County Hospital began a virus-forced lockdown March 11, the same date on which the World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the spread of the COVID-19 a global pandemic.
Updated guidance for in-person visitations was issued Sept. 30 by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (IDIA). The departments described the revised rules for visits as “reasonable ways a nursing home can safely facilitate in-person visitation to address the psychosocial needs of residents.”
The nine-month separation from family and other loved ones “has taken a physical and emotional toll on residents,” the IDPH/IDIA guidance said. “Residents may feel socially isolated, leading to increased risk for depression, anxiety and other expressions of distress. Residents living with cognitive impairment or other disabilities may find visitor restrictions and other ongoing changes related to COVID-19 confusing or upsetting.”
Clark, speaking for the “Christian Caring Community” of the Perry Lutheran Homes, asked for friends’ and families’ prayers as the facility cares for a very vulnerable segment of the population.
“We invite you to join us in praying for all residents, resident families and staff,” she said. “We pray for this virus to leave our care community and the community of Perry. We pray for those working on effective treatments and a vaccine to defend against this virus. We pray that God will keep us and guard us all as we care for those living in our home.”
ThePerryNews.com will update this story as information becomes available.
Our auditor’s office lost, misplaced, or intentionally kept 5800 votes from being counted last election. It wasn’t reported until two months after the election. The auditor at the time retired so this was passed off as it was his entire responsibility. I haven’t heard of any investigation by our state on who else or what happened to the most votes ever lost in an election in our state. Shouldn’t there be more accountability?