Nine more residents at Blaine nursing home are diagnosed with the coronavirus
Nine more residents of a Blaine nursing home have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases at Good Samaritan Society-Stafholt to 13.
Shawn Neisteadt, a spokesman for Good Samaritan Society — a South Dakota-based not-for-profit provider of senior housing and services, including Stafholt in Blaine — confirmed the new cases in an email to The Bellingham Herald on Wednesday, April 1.
“We are seeing these additional confirmed cases following new testing requirements from the Washington Department of Health,” Neisteadt said in a statement.
That new requirement is that all residents and staff are tested following confirmed cases, he said.
Of the total at Stafholt, 11 are residents of the nursing home at 456 C St. and two are healthcare workers, according to Neisteadt.
Neisteadt said all residents and families have been notified of the positive cases.
“We are working closely with the Washington Department of Health to ensure our response plan meets the needs of the rapidly changing situation, and are following its guidance on isolating residents,” Neisteadt said, adding that ill residents were being cared for in designated areas at Stafholt.
All employees are wearing masks to protect residents and other staff as well as taking other precautions under the guidance of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Washington State Department of Health, according to Neisteadt.
“Our team is taking extra precautions to monitor the health of staff and residents who may have been exposed. The health and safety of our residents, employees and the community remains our highest priority as we serve during this unprecedented pandemic,” Neisteadt said.
Neisteadt didn’t include information on what those extra precautions entailed.
As of noon Wednesday, the Whatcom County Health Department reported 144 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 and eight of those have died.
About 45% of county residents who have tested positive for the respiratory illness are 60 years and older, according to health department data.
