PeaceHealth sends meals, nurses to Bellingham nursing home with 38 coronavirus cases
Health care workers from PeaceHealth are helping Shuksan Healthcare Center, a Bellingham nursing home, where 11 workers and 27 residents have tested positive for COVID-19.
All of the staff at Shuksan who have tested positive are health care workers, David Kiefer, its regional director of operations, said to The Bellingham Herald.
Ill staffers are barred from working at Shuksan or elsewhere until they meet certain conditions meant to protect others from contracting the contagious respiratory illness.
The PeaceHealth workers have volunteered for the temporary assignment, which will last at least four weeks, according to a news release from Whatcom Unified Command, which is overseeing the COVID-19 response in the county, on Wednesday, March 25.
They include registered nurses, certified nursing assistants and licensed practicing nurses, all of whom will work at the Bellingham nursing home full time.
They will not work at any other health care facility during their time at Shuksan.
When they’ve completed their rotation at Shuksan, they will be furloughed from work for two weeks, with pay, to ensure safety patient safety, according to Whatcom Unified Command.
It wasn’t known Wednesday how many workers PeaceHealth is sending to Shuksan.
PeaceHealth, which operates a hospital in Bellingham and medical clinics, also has been providing three meals a day to Shuksan residents since Monday, March 23, and will continue to do so for at least two weeks, according to the release.
Whatcom Transportation Authority is taking the meals from PeaceHealth to Shuksan.
Whatcom Unified Command also is working on a plan to provide supplemental cleaning at the facility, according to the release.
Shuksan Healthcare Center has 98 employees and 38 residents, according to Kiefer.
Over the weekend, the Whatcom County Health Department announced an outbreak at the nursing home.
Adults who are 65 years and older who contract the virus that causes COVID-19 are at greater risk for becoming severely ill.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 80% of COVID-19 deaths reported in the U.S. have been adults 65 years old and up.
Local and tribal governments created Whatcom Unified Command as a single agency to respond to what has become a global pandemic and its impact on the county.
Its work includes the collaboration that has PeaceHealth supporting Shuksan, according to the release.
“This exemplifies why we came together to solve problems throughout the community to mitigate the impacts of this pandemic,” Whatcom Unified Command’s incident commanders said in the release.
Whatcom County has 66 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including two deaths, according to numbers released at noon Tuesday, March 25, by the Whatcom County Health Department.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhat you should know about the coronavirus
COVID-19, the new coronavirus, is a disease caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2.
The disease is spread through contact between people within six feet of each other, especially through coughing and sneezing that expels respiratory droplets that land in the mouths or noses of people nearby.
Although most of the cases have been mild, the disease is especially dangerous for the elderly and others with weaker immune systems.
Click the drop-down icon in the upper right of this card for more information on symptoms and how to stop its spread.
What you can do
Here’s what you can do to protect yourself and others from COVID-19, according to the Whatcom County Health Department.
▪ Keep six feet between yourself and others when in public.
▪ Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
▪ Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth with hands that haven’t been washed.
▪ Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, throw the tissue in the trash and then wash your hands.
▪ Stay home if you feel sick. Avoid others who are sick.
▪ If your symptoms are severe and require medical care, call your doctor first.
