Ross nursing home sees COVID-19 case surge
Nearly 40 residents and at least nine employees at ManorCare nursing home in Ross have tested positive for the coronavirus.
ManorCare Health Services in North Hills, which houses about 200 licensed beds, reported 39 residents tested positive for COVID19 as of Saturday and two have recovered. In addition to those residents and the nine employees, three residents and three employees are awaiting test results, according to a data chart on the company’s website.
A company spokeswoman said they began universal testing of residents and staff a month ago.
“We began June 29 and have repeated it five times, with the sixth time starting this week,” ManorCare spokeswoman Kelly Kessler said in an emailed statement. “We support this process so that we can identify, isolate the virus and treat patients as early as possible.”
Pennsylvania Department of Health press secretary Nate Wardle said a large number of test results out of Allegheny County was reported to the department on Friday, which included several weeks worth of backlogged results. Some results came from a long-term care facility, he said.
He could not confirm if any of those cases were linked to ManorCare in North Hills.
The facility is one of 42 ManorCare locations across Pennsylvania.
At least three or more patients
or staff have developed a new onset of respiratory symptoms within a 72-hour period at North Hills, the company reported. The Pennsylvania Department of Health last week reported less than five cases of the virus among residents and no deaths. The state reported there are 147 residents currently at the facility. The company has isolation areas for those with positive diagnoses, according to its website.
Amie Downs, spokeswoman for the Allegheny County Health Department, directed questions to ManorCare.
ManorCare’s Peters Township facility in Washington County has 22 positive cases of COVID-19 among residents, and 11 employees have tested positive, the company’s website states. The Pittsburgh facility in Shadyside on Fifth Avenue — one of two locations in Shadyside — currently has three tests results pending for residents while 54 residents total have recovered.
The company website does not list any deaths, but at least 12 residents have died at the Fifth Avenue location since the pandemic began, according to state data.
The other Shadyside location on Negley Avenue currently has four test results pending for residents, while three residents tested positive recently. To date, 42 have recovered and eight employees have pending test results, the company’s website states.
The network said it is taking cautionary measures to prevent spread of the virus, including restriction of group activities like communal dining and activity programming, consistent staffing assignments and daily screenings of patients, staff and employees for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
Authorized visitors and employees are screened daily for:
• Confirmation of a positive COVID-19 test
• Exposure to a positive COVID-19 case
• International travel
• Cruise ship travel
• Unexplained fever over 100 degrees within the last 14 days
• A diagnosis of pneumonia or lower respiratory tract infection of unexplained etiology in the last 14 days
• Any other possible signs and symptoms as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
One of the worst outbreaks in the state among nursing homes occurred at the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County. The 589bed facility has had 332 cases among residents and 82 deaths. The current number of residents is 314, according to the state.