Assisted living facilities are responding to omicron
Newhaven Court has a 100% COVID-19 vaccination rate for staff and residents, which executive operations officer Gary Renwick said helped the assisted living facility get ahead of the omicron variant.
“We never stopped with all our regimen as far as safety precautions; we screen every visitor and we do not allow more than 30 at one time,” Renwick said Friday. “To visit, you have to be screened. We take temperature, and we take oxygen level. As long as they are able to pass that, they are required to wear masks, socially distance as much as possible.”
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living said in a Wednesday news release that nursing homes throughout the country have experienced “an alarming spike” in COVID-19 cases due to community spread among the general population.
A report from the organization said nationally there are about 57,000 weekly nursing home staff cases and 32,061 weekly resident cases as of Jan. 9.
The news release also shows that while COVID-19-related deaths among nursing home residents has increased recently, the death rate is 10 times less compared to December 2020 due to high vaccination and booster rates among residents.
Assisted living facilities around Butler County have kept strategies in place to prevent such a surge, which could cause complications for vulnerable individuals such as senior citizens. For example, the employee and resident vaccine mandate at Newhaven Court has helped keep residents safe, which Renwick said is a top priority in the wake of the recent omicron surge.
Frank Skrip, director of public relations for Concordia Lutheran Ministries, said the assisted living center has continued mitigation strategies, including staff wearing appropriate PPE, utilizing disinfecting fogging machines, UV disinfection devices and a UV sanitation system in the ductwork, where possible.
“Concordia leadership and medical directors have been meeting regularly to assess the virus’ progression in the region and make operational adjustments,” Skrip said in a statement for Concordia. “We continue to require testing of appropriate staff and residents, based on community transmission rate and whether we have any cases in our respective facilities.”
Mark Bondi, president of UPMC Senior Communities, also said health standards have been steady throughout the pandemic in assisted living facilities, including Sherwood Oaks in Cranberry Township.
“We have been conducting proactive testing of our residents and employees continuously throughout the pandemic,” Bondi said in a statement from UPMC. “Additionally, we are also still doing entry screenings at the facilities, and we require that all visitors and support persons wear masks during their entire visit, even in resident rooms.”
Although community guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have changed since the start of the pandemic, Newhaven Court has kept its standards of mask wearing, social distancing and limits on crowd size in place since they started in March 2020.
Community transmission
On Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 408 new positive COVID-19 cases in Butler County. The department has recently been warning Pennsylvanians to be wary of breakthrough cases, which can infect the vaccinated, but are more likely to have reduced symptoms.
Renwick said Newhaven Court has only seen two breakthrough cases in residents, but the facility has a “red zone” made to house COVID-19-positive residents while they recover from the disease. This red zone is like an extra “neighborhood” in the facility with a dedicated staff who can help residents who have COVID-19.
“Because our population is so vulnerable, we have to dedicate them to an area with dedicated staffing,” he said. “We wanted to have an area, so they could still get really good care and get provided assistance.”
Margie Walsh, Visiting Nurses Association of Western Pennsylvania executive director at Lutheran SeniorLife, said Thursday that its staff has administered about 800 COVID-19 vaccines to homebound senior citizens and their caregivers since last year. The organization works with the Butler County Area Agency on Aging and Butler Health System to get vaccine doses to the people most in need.
Walsh said the home service was popular when the vaccine first became available, and recently the VNA staff has been busy administering vaccines and boosters again in the wake of the omicron surge.
While the demand has the nursing staff scrambling, according to Walsh, she said it has helped to keep the vulnerable population out of needing hospital treatment.
“It's about people getting vaccinated; it's what we do is reach people in their homes,” Walsh said. “We are probably doing 10 to 15 every day during the week.”
Walsh said the home vaccine service is mainly meant for homebound people who cannot make it to a vaccine clinic. The nurses have been able to vaccinate individuals in seven counties surrounding Butler, which Walsh said has been appreciated by just about everyone.
“It has been a very rewarding and satisfying to be able to do this for the community,” Walsh said. “The responses we have gotten from families is just amazing.”
Keeping COVID at bay
The statement from Concordia commends the work and cooperation of its staff for continuing to work through the omicron surge.
“We’re blessed to have some of the best caregivers around at Concordia, who are committed to the health and well-being of our residents and patients,” the statement said.
Renwick said programming and activities have continued at Newhaven with the mitigation methods in place. The facility tests all staff before they enter the facility, and visitors are limited in number and screened as well.
Walsh said the VNA staff still see a lot of patients suffering COVID-19 symptoms. She said the end of the omicron surge is not yet in sight, and she would rather have her staff administer a lot of vaccinations than have to care for patients sick with COVID-19.
“Most of the people we see hospitalized are not vaccinated,” Walsh said. “This is not a convenience service; we're trying to reach the right population with our services. If they call us, we pretty much know they need us to come to them.”
