Nursing home facilities likely to receive vaccine by Christmas
Santa Cruz County COVID-19 death count hits 55
SANTA CRUZ >> The vaccine will be home for Christmas — doses provided to skilled nursing and residential care facility staff and residents by federal authorities, that is.
County spokesman Jason Hoppin said Monday morning that because the vaccine for congregate living facilities such as these will be passed through a federal, and not state channel, it’s likely that facility operators will be able to sign up to obtain vaccines from drug stores before the holiday.
Late last week, County of Santa Cruz Health Ser v ices Agency spokeswoman Corinne
Hyland said the vaccine for skilled nursing facilities “may” arrive by Dec. 25.
“It is my understanding that these doses would be distributed by the Federal Pharmacy Program through CVS and Walgreens,” she said in an email.
Whatever the date, the vaccine will be a relief to staff, residents and loved ones of both groups who continue to see outbreaks leading to cases and even death. The 54th and 55th deaths in the county, reported over the weekend — a white man in his 70s who lived at Santa Cruz Post Acute and a white woman 90 or older who lived at Hearts & Hands Post Acute and Rehab Center, also in Santa Cruz — demonstrate the pain of an entire community. Both individuals had significant underlying conditions, but COVID-19 was the underlying cause of death.
In Santa Cruz County, approximately 45 skilled nursing facility and residential care facility residents have died after contracting COVID-19, according to data from the facilities, the California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Social Services. That makes up a majority of the county’s 55 coronavirusrelated deaths recorded in its data dashboard, though not all of the resident death certificates have been received yet — meaning the number will likely increase.
More than 10 skilled nursing and residential care facilities have experienced outbreaks since the pandemic began, but Pacific Coast Manor in Capitola , Watsonv ille Post Acute, Santa Cruz Post Acute, Hearts & Hands Post Acute in Santa Cruz and Maple House II in Live Oak have had the majority of cases so severe they ended in death.
At this time, Pacific Coast Manor and Santa Cruz Post Acute have active cases — less than 11 resident cases each, CDPH data indicates. On Friday, Santa Cruz Post Acute spokesman Dan Kramer said that the facility had just three active cases, all residents.
Va l le y C onva le sc ent Hospital, a skilled nursing facility in Watsonville, and Aegis Assisted Living, a residential care facility in Aptos, most recently reported 16 and 12 active cases respectively to their state licensing agencies.
No facilities but Aegis Assisted Living are currently reporting staff coronavirus cases; 12 Aegis healthcare workers are infected.
In the meantime
As facility operators await the vaccine doses, skilled nursing and residential care facilities are following the guidance of the CDPH and CDSS while working with local authorities to try to mitigate the effects of outbreaks, defined by at least one case in a nursing home setting. These recommendations have been updated by the state agencies throughout the pandemic to fit the needs of the communities as they struggle to keep employees and patients healthy.
“Throughout the pandemic, elderly individuals have been disproportionately impacted, with the highest mortality rates in those over the age of 80,” the CDPH prefaced its most recent guidelines on transferring older residents to alternate care sites that can offer medical monitoring — a tool meant to alleviate stress on hospitals and facilities. “With anticipated surges in cases, strategies are needed to provide care for less sick patients at sites outside acute care hospitals to allow hospitals to focus their resources on those with the most acute needs.”
Many, but not all, of the CDPH- and CDSS-licensed facilities have established COVID-19 update pages or statements to be regularly updated on their websites for the sake of transparency.
A few, such as Pacific Coast Manor, g ive cumulative and active case counts as well as their updated operations designed to prevent further spread of the virus.
The Capitola establishment is utilizing space to create separate wings of the facility for the care of residents who may test positive for COVID-19, for example.
But Santa Cruz County deaths trend the same way as the state indicated — though those over 65 have had the fewest numbers of cases in the county, they account for nearly all of the deaths, according to Sentinel records and the county’s COVID-19 data dashboard.
The most likely source of transmission of COVID-19 in the county remains person- to- person, household transmission.
This is why local, state and federal officials are encouraging citizens to limit their contacts outside of their own households; the ban of gatherings is a central element of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Regional StayAt-Home order.
As of Monday, Santa Cruz County had not yet entered the order through the Bay Area region’s ICU capacity being more than the required 15%.
For more information on vaccine planning across the state, visit cdph.ca.gov.
Local, state and federal officials are encouraging citizens to limit their contacts outside of their own households; the ban of gatherings is a central element of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Regional StayAt-Home order.