Resident at Spring Creek senior living in Bellingham tests positive for coronavirus
A 96-year-old resident at Spring Creek by Bonaventure, a senior living facility, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, a company representative confirmed to The Bellingham Herald on Friday, March 27.
The man, who has no symptoms and is doing well, moved into Spring Creek on March 16 after being discharged from Shuksan Healthcare Center, according to Jeremiah Gray, director of operations for Bonaventure Senior Living.
He was tested on Monday, March 23, after Bonaventure learned about the COVID-19 outbreak at Shuksan, Gray said.
Both facilities are in Bellingham.
Shuksan Healthcare Center, 1530 James St., has 27 residents and 19 employees — one more worker tested positive on Friday — who have been diagnosed with the respiratory illness, according to the Whatcom County Health Department and daily briefings from Shuksan. Of that total, two residents’ deaths have been linked to the nursing home.
The outbreak at Shuksan was revealed last weekend.
As for Spring Creek, Gray said the facility was notified that it had a confirmed case Thursday evening, March 26. A doctor ordered the test and the Whatcom County Health Department came and tested the man, Gray said.
The resident who tested positive has been isolated in his room in the assisted living part of the facility, 223 E. Bakerview Road. His meals are brought to him by the same staff, who use N95 respirator masks.
When he came to Spring Creek, the man was placed in 14-day isolation, which is standard protocol for everyone who moves in, according to Gray.
“We don’t know where people have been” or who they’ve come into contact with, Gray explained.
The man, who is being monitored, isn’t believed to be a risk to other residents or staff at this time, Gray said.
Meals for other residents also are being served in their rooms. They can go out into the hallway for a quick walk. Staff who come into contact with them and help care for them wear surgical masks, Gray said.
He said the company started securing supplies, such as masks, in January.
Bonaventure hasn’t asked for additional testing. It is monitoring employees and residents for symptoms — cough, fever, respiratory illness — and will ask for additional testing should there be a concern, Gray said.
Residents have their temperature taken two to three times a day, while staff have theirs taken at the start of the shift, according to Gray.
Spring Creek by Bonaventure has 169 residents — 90 in assisted living, 62 in independent living and 17 in memory care — and 89 employees.
Bonaventure has 25 communities in Oregon, Washington state and Colorado.
Testing questions
On Thursday, the Whatcom County Health Department reported it had learned of additional confirmed cases at a small number of long-term care facilities in the county and was working with each of those facilities on further testing needs and investigating contacts. Whatcom Unified Command also is assessing the resources those facilities need.
Testing remains limited and not being able to access tests has been a concern for the public and some facilities.
The health department announced the positive test at Lynden Manor on Sunday, March 22, and the woman was placed into isolation in her room at the assisted living center, 905 Aaron Drive in Lynden.
After the resident at Lynden Manor tested positive for COVID-19, Russell Chittock asked the Whatcom County Health Department if the other residents and staff at the assisted living facility also could be tested.
The facility has a total of 107 residents and about 80 employees, Chittock, who is the administrator for the facility, said to The Bellingham Herald earlier this week.
The health department told him blanket testing wasn’t possible.
“Honestly, I’ve asked for as many they’d be willing to do,” Chittock said.
Chittock believed that the resident’s illness was caught early because Lynden Manor followed precautions set out by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the state Department of Health.
Specifically, he said the assisted living facility had been taking temperatures of staff and residents, looking for a mild fever as low as 99 degrees Fahrenheit, and paying attention to coughs. Residents with a low-grade fever are asked to isolate in their rooms.
Residents who leave their room are required to wear a surgical mask, he said.
Staff wear surgical masks and N95 respirator masks. There isn’t a surplus of N95 masks so staff have been reusing them.
On Friday, Claudia Murphy, spokeswoman for Whatcom Unified Command provided additional information about testing and the next step for any long-term care facility, which includes skilled nursing facilities (nursing homes) and assisted living facilities, with at least one confirmed case of COVID-19.
▪ “We’ve instructed all skilled nursing facilities to follow the DOH guidelines for facilities with residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection, regardless of whether or not they have confirmed cases,” Murphy said. “These more stringent guidelines are added protection for residents, including more frequent symptom monitoring of residents.”
▪ If a facility has a resident who has symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and reaches out to the health department? “We are prioritizing our testing resources for this vulnerable population, and we work with the facility to get that resident tested for COVID-19,” Murphy said.
▪ And the next step?
“If the test comes back positive, we conduct a case investigation. If through this investigation we discover that more residents or staff are symptomatic (have symptoms), we also test those individuals. The investigation at the facility continues, and if we see evidence of COVID-19 transmission within the facility, we then consider testing more residents as a baseline.”
As of noon Friday, there were 92 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Whatcom County, and a total of four residents have died.
And at 3 p.m. on Friday, the Lummi Public Health Department reported it had another confirmed case of COVID-19, bringing its total to 12. It said the most recent case was a Lummi community member who lived in Whatcom County.
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.
