Nearly 75% of Whatcom’s coronavirus-related deaths are from nursing homes, data shows
Roughly 74% of people who tested positive for COVID-19 and died in Whatcom County were associated with long-term care or skilled nursing facilities, according to Whatcom Unified Command and the Whatcom County Health Department.
Not all facilities have disclosed total deaths but at least 19 of the 28 total deaths of people with the new coronavirus reported by Whatcom County by Thursday, April 30, have been associated with five facilities.
Whatcom County has nine skilled nursing facilities and two have reported positive coronavirus cases, Cindy Hollinsworth, communicable disease and epidemiology manager with the county health department, said during an April 27 media briefing. The two skilled nursing facilities that have reported cases are Shuksan Healthcare Center in Bellingham and Good Samaritan Society-Stafholt in Blaine.
As of Wednesday, April 29, Shuksan, which first reported an outbreak on March 22, has had 10 residents die after testing positive for the coronavirus, according to spokesperson Dan Brady. One additional resident died at home 10 days after being discharged from the facility. And a 12th resident, who was admitted after they tested positive for the coronavirus, died Tuesday, April 28.
The skilled nursing facility announced last week that it would begin accepting new patients who have tested positive for the coronavirus. It is one of three facilities statewide that is doing so.
Not including several recently admitted, previously positive patients, Shuksan has had 33 of its original 38 residents test positive for the respiratory illness, Brady said. The facility also had 23 staff members who tested positive.
Early COVID-19 impact
Brady said Shuksan staff, who have developed strong relationships with the facility’s residents, have shown amazing dedication throughout the pandemic. He also said the initial feeling of helplessness during the outbreak was difficult.
“As one of the earliest facilities in the nation impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Shuksan Healthcare residents and staff have experienced first-hand how devastating this virus can be,” Brady said in a prepared statement. “They know how important they are in the lives of our residents, and they feel that they can and must step up to care for our community’s most vulnerable. We are incredibly proud of them.”
Stafholt, which first reported its outbreak in late March, has had 17 residents test positive for COVID-19, and has had one death, according to Shawn Neisteadt, a spokesperson for Good Samaritan Society — a South-Dakota-based not-for-profit provider of senior housing and services that operates Stafholt. Neisteadt said of the 17 residents who have tested positive, two have recovered.
Seven Stafholt employees also had COVID-19, and six of them have recovered, he said. In a prepared statement, Randy Bury, president of the Good Samaritan Society, thanked the staff and their commitment to the residents during the difficult circumstances. Bury also said there’s been an outpouring of community support throughout the pandemic.
“Any time there is a serious illness or death of a resident, it is tremendously difficult on the staff members at the Good Samaritan Society,” Bury said. “The relationships between our residents and staff members are years in the making. So when we are caring for our residents, it feels like we are caring for our family.”
Long-term care facilities
In addition to the nine skilled nursing facilities, Whatcom County has 17 assisted living facilities and 23 adult family homes, according to Chris Wright, a spokesperson for the state Joint Information Center handling the COVID-19 response.
Wright said Lynden Manor, Summit Place Assisted Living and Spring Creek by Bonaventure have all reported positive cases. One adult family home also reported at least one positive coronavirus case, Wright said, but the state Joint Information Center is not naming adult family homes because “they’re so small naming them could potentially be a HIPAA violation.”
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, is the federal law that protects patient health information.
Lynden Manor, Summit Place and Spring Creek have all reported two deaths each of residents who tested positive for COVID-19, according to facility officials.
Fourteen of roughly 110 Lynden Manor residents have tested positive, and the two who died were receiving hospice care, according to facility administrator Russ Chittock. He said that nine of the facility’s 14 COVID-19 positive residents were asymptomatic. And, as of April 18, the facility does not have any current residents with coronavirus, he said.
Chittock said there’s a lot of shaming when a long-term care facility or nursing home reports a positive case of the respiratory illness, but he’s grateful the facility was taking steps early to handle an outbreak. Chittock said, on average, the facility has between 75 and 80 staff members, and that when the outbreak first occurred in late March, they had around 30 staff members from various departments quit in a matter of days. He said many said they’d come back once the outbreak was over.
“For us, we didn’t have the option of it being over. We needed our people,” Chittock said. “It was extremely trying. … We felt at the very beginning this was a war against the virus, and we needed soldiers.”
Chittock said he’s grateful to various community members who joined the staff, helping to alleviate some of the overtime pressures on the remaining staff.
Spring Creek has had two positive cases of COVID-19 among its residents, and both of the residents died, according to Jeremiah Gray, director of operations for Bonaventure Senior Living, which operates Spring Creek. Gray said one of the residents was discharged from Shuksan, and the other moved in after being in the hospital.
Gray said one employee also tested positive but has recovered and is back at work. Gray said the company as a whole, which owns facilities in several states, has managed the spread of the disease well, leading to a relatively low infection rate. Across its 3,203 total residents, Bonaventure has had 27 positive cases as of April 16, Gray said. He also said the company began collecting personal protective equipment early, leading to no shortages.
“It’s been a new endeavor for us as it has been for everybody. … Our staff and team members have all had the tools to be successful,” Gray said.
A representative for Nightingale Healthcare, which manages Summit Place, refused to comment Thursday about cases or deaths at the facility.
It’s unknown how many cases have been reported at the unnamed adult family home in Whatcom County, or if the facility has had any deaths.
Hospital deaths
Whatcom Unified Command, the multi-governmental agency directing the local pandemic response, and the county health department couldn’t say how many deaths of people who had tested positive occurred at PeaceHealth St. Joseph hospital, because the agencies didn’t have “complete hospitalization data for every confirmed case.”
Hospital spokesperson Bev Mayhew said as of Wednesday, April 29, the hospital has treated a total of 50 patients with COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Of those 50, 12 have died of COVID-19-related issues, Mayhew said.
Six of the 12 people who died came to the hospital from a long-term care facility, Mayhew said.
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Positive COVID-19 cases
While a majority of the deaths are from care facilities, residents from those facilities make up 27% of the 304 total cases across the county as of Thursday, April 30, according to Melissa Morin, a spokesperson for the county health department. Morin said testing has been prioritized in the facilities because older individuals are more at risk for severe illness and because of the risk of spread.
The agencies couldn’t say how many of the confirmed positive cases were for people who recovered from the illness while at home, but said that everyone who tests positive for the coronavirus is given instructions for self-isolation.
“Most people are doing the right thing by staying appropriately isolated at home until they have recovered,” the agencies said.
The agencies said that people not treated at a hospital or in a residential care setting may be seeking care through their primary care providers or taking care of themselves at home. The agencies said the majority of positive coronavirus cases are mild and people will get better without the need for medical care.
The agencies said the data about deaths only gives a limited understanding about positive coronavirus cases and the disease’s transmission throughout the county.
“Our health department will continue to monitor data related to confirmed cases and other indicators of the progression of COVID within our community,” the agencies said.
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
