In The News:
More than one in five coronavirus-related deaths in Texas have been linked to skilled nursing homes, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data, illustrating the vulnerability of older residents in group settings to the deadly virus.
Data shows that 22 percent of deaths related to COVID-19 as of Monday were connected to nursing homes, while another 8 percent were linked to assisted-living facilities, which provide a less-intensive level of care.
The figures help clarify what has been a murky understanding of how the coronavirus has affected such facilities and those who rely on them. At least two nursing homes and one assisted living facility in the Houston area have been the scene of outbreaks, leading to at least two deaths. A total of 16 residents of a San Antonio nursing home have died from the virus, representing about half of all deaths in Bexar County.
Local officials have not been publicly announcing every positive COVID-19 case at every nursing home and assisted living facility. Fort Bend County reported on a FAQ webpage that four long-term care facilities had positive cases. Some say the public has been largely left in the dark about what may be going on.
Relatives have relied on facilities to tell them about any infections, sometimes prodding staffers for information themselves.The Texas Health and Human Services Commission last week required facilities to tell residents, staff and family when there is “exposure, presumptive and confirmed cases in the facility.”
Numbers released by the state, even as testing has lagged, confirm a fear that has existed from the start: What if state-licensed facilities couldn’t keep their patients safe?
Gov. Greg Abbott banned most visitors a month ago from nursing homes, among other steps, in an attempt to protect residents from infection. Visitors were largely prohibited from assisted living facilities later.
But the rules were not enough to stop the spread within these complexes. Authorities said a worker testing positive at The Resort at Texas City prompted widespread testing there; one concern is that staffers often circulate among multiple locations.
Such facilities typically take the temperatures of employees, but that won’t cover someone not showing symptoms of the disease.
Nursing homes in Texas provide around-the-clock medical care and are designed for people who need assistance with daily activities.
As of Monday, at least 70 coronavirus-related deaths were in nursing facilities, according to the Texas Health & Human Services Commission. At least 24 deaths were in assisted living facilities. There were a total of 314 deaths statewide linked to coronavirus as of that date, according to state data and Chronicle reporting.
Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, said the numbers likely understate reality significantly.
“It’s got to be a very conservative estimation,” Mollott said, “because of the lack of testing, because of the lack of attention that residents are being paid under these circumstances.”
The number of nursing home deaths does not include people such as James Innes’ father, Willard Innes. Staff at a Tyler-area nursing home told Innes’ mother that his father died from pneumonia, Innes said.
It struck him as strange.
“That… would be a huge coincidence,” he said.
Across the country, more than 2,300 people with coronavirus linked to long-term care facilities have died, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
They accounted for as much as 59 percent of deaths in Minnesota as of April 3, and as few as 7 percent of deaths in Idaho as of April 6, the Journal found. Long-term care facilities were linked to 24 percent of deaths as of April 7 in New York, the hardest-hit state.
In Texas, a total of 198 nursing facilities were reporting coronavirus cases as of Monday — representing 16 percent of all licensed facilities across the state.
A total of 52 assisted living facilities had cases — representing 2.6 percent of facilities across the state.
Texas Health & Human Services did not immediately disclose the number of deaths by county in nursing homes and assisted living centers.
Some jurisdictions in the Houston area have announced major outbreaks.
The largest disclosed regionally has been in Texas City, where the number of infected residents and workers Tuesday at the Resort at Texas City remained at 83.
Officials in Galveston County declined to say how many of the 11 people who have died in the county with the virus were linked to the facility. One man confirmed that his elderly mother, who lived there, died after testing positive.
Galveston County has responded with a push to test more nursing-home residents and workers.
The number of infected residents also remained at 28 at Park Manor of Quail Valley in Missouri City, part of Fort Bend County.
No one had died as of Tuesday and some patients were beginning to return from the hospital, facility spokesperson Leticia Caballero said.
In Harris County, the number of residents and staff infected at La Porte Healthcare Center had grown to 37, Harris County Public Health spokeswoman Elizabeth Perez said. Two people have died, the center said.
The highest death toll known so far at a local senior community was not at a nursing home, but a senior apartment community in The Woodlands, which is not regulated by the state. Four elderly men who lived at The Conservatory at Alden Bridge died with COVID-19.
Nick Powell in Galveston contributed to this report
emily.foxhall@chron.com
Emily Foxhall is the Texas Storyteller for the Houston Chronicle. Read her on our free site, chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | [email protected] | Twitter: emfoxhall
Why do some nursing homes have horrible COVID19 outbreaks while others have very little or none? Proper staffing and proper infection control saves lives. If your loved one died in a nursing home because of COVID-19, please contact us. 1-800-645-5262
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