Nursing home reports COVID-19 outbreak

The Oakview Health and Rehabilitation nursing home in Summerville, Georgia, is dealing with the latest coronavirus outbreak in North Georgia at a long-term care facility.

On Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported 34 residents and 19 staff members at Oakview had tested positive for COVID-19.

Reno Lambert, director of Oakview Health and Rehab, did not return a call Wednesday afternoon seeking comment.

Chattooga County has largely avoided nursing home outbreaks, while surrounding counties in Northwest Georgia have suffered. With the new cases, the county itself set a record for cases in a day with 41 on Tuesday. Chattooga County now has reported 491 cases, 172 of those in the last two weeks. Five people in the county have died from the coronavirus.

In Whitfield County, seven residents died and a total of 47 residents and 25 staff members at Ridgewood Manor tested positive in July.

Hamilton Health Care System owns and operates Ridgewood Manor and several other longterm care facilities in Dalton. Tyler Kendall, vice president of post-acute care services, said in a statement that Hamilton’s long-term care facilities are staying “very aggressive with daily screening of associates for COVID-19-like symptoms.”

“Our associates caring for these residents become deeply connected, as they feel like family to us, [so] protecting our residents’ health and safety is our top priority,” Kendall said in the statement.

Across the county line, 80 residents at PruittHealth in Fort Oglethorpe have tested positive for COVID-19, and 10 people have died. Of the 80, 69 have recovered.

Ten residents died at the NHC nursing home in Rossville after 60 residents tested positive. Another 10 residents died at the PruittHealth nursing home in Fort Oglethorpe.