Nursing home remains under investigation

State health officials are still investigating a Milford nursing home where 80 residents have fallen ill after being exposed to coronavirus, while the governor’s office announced protective equipment from the national stockpile will be distributed to nursing homes.

Av Harris, a spokesman for the Department of Public Health, confirmed the state’s investigation into Golden Hill Rehab Pavilion is still pending in an email Monday.

The Bridgeport Avenue home became the subject of an investigation after the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner changed the death certificate of a 91year-old from respiratory failure to “acute respiratory infection, probable novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.”

Deaths at nursing homes make up about 55 percent of the total deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Connecticut, according to data released by the governor’s office last Thursday.

At least 17 residents of the nursing home have died after testing positive for the disease, and five other deaths are suspected to have been COVID-19related, according to the data.

Statewide, at least 4,814 nursing home residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. There have been at least 958 deaths attributed to the illness, with 291 more suspected of being related to the disease.

The DPH is also investigating the home “regarding family notification of condition and COVID status,”

Deaths at nursing homes make up about 55 percent of the total deaths attributed to COVID-19 in Connecticut, according to data released by the governor’s office last Thursday.

Harris said previously.

Hearst Connecticut Media reached out to a spokeswoman for Golden Hill Rehab Pavilion, but did not receive a response.

The company has previously disputed claims raised by family members of residents who had gotten sick, including one family who said they learned their loved one had died from the disease when they received his death certificate.

Nursing homes are required to report all deaths confirmed or suspected to have involved COVID-19 to both the DPH and the chief medical examiner.

But that hasn’t always happened, according to Chief Medical Examiner Dr. James Gill, who said his office has had to investigate deaths suspected of being COVID-19 related when they are not directly reported to his office.

In an email Monday, Gill said his office does not directly investigate nursing homes, which is handled by the DPH Facilities Licensing and Investigations Section, only deaths.

It is not clear how many other homes in the state, if any, are also under investigation.