The tests were administrated after a resident, a woman in her 90’s, tested positive and later died.
READ THE FIRST REPORT: Coronavirus: COVID-19 positive Springfield nursing home resident dies
“A total of six Clark County cases and one other county case have been found at Southbrook,” a statement from the CCCHD said. “The CCCHD is continuing to monitor the situation.”
CCCHD spokesperson Emma Smales said on Thursday afternoon that the district had finished, “the initial testing of all residents and employees.” She did not specify if additional testing would be administered to residents and staff.
Southbrook, located in Springfield, is both a long-term and post-acute care faculty. The care center offers 24-hours nursing care, “with a full range of rehabilitative service,” according to Southbrook’s website.
According to a statement posted on Southbrook’s website, “protecting resident health and wellbeing, and that of our staff, is our priority.”
“Despite following all the guidelines and protocols, we now have four residents who have tested positive for the coronavirus currently residing at Southbrook,” the statement said. “The positive patients, who are all stable, have all been moved to one part of the building and are being separated and kept apart from all other residents in the building and have been placed in strict isolation.”
All staff caring for the coronavirus positive patients are, “using and wearing all the personal protective equipment as advised by the CDC and the county and state health departments,” the statement said.
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“This knowledge is invaluable as it helps us ensure the risk of transmission to other staff and residents is greatly minimized. We now know what we’re dealing with,” the statement said. “Unless everyone in the nursing facility is tested that the facility does not know if they have positives among their staff or residents.”
CCCHD Commissioner Charlie Patterson said on Friday that although 55, “people, residents and workers,” at Southbrook were tested, that didn’t include everyone at the care center.
“That wasn’t every resident and every worker, only those in close proximity or had specific touchpoints with (the residents who died),” Patterson said.
Tia Anspach, Vice President of Operations at Premier Health Care Management, the operator of Southbrook, said the care center will not be doing any interviews.
“This is a very difficult time for our families, residents and staff members,” Anspach said in a written statement. “The county as a whole is at a loss for how this virus spreads.”
Clark County has 57 confirmed cases, one death and one probable death, of the coronavirus as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Ohio Department of Health’s website.
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