Data shows Whatcom’s long-term care facilities among state’s hardest hit in pandemic
Whatcom’s long-term care facilities are among the state’s hardest hit during the pandemic, as 80% of the county’s COVID-related deaths have been linked to long-term care facilities, according to data released Tuesday, Oct. 27, by the Washington State Department of Health.
The state’s long-term care report states that as of Monday, Oct. 26, long-term care facilities statewide have seen 8,280 COVID cases and 1,275 related deaths throughout the pandemic. That represented 8% of the state’s total cases and 55% of the state’s total deaths, according to the report.
The report also showed that after being hit hard at the beginning of the pandemic in March and April, there was a second, smaller surge in late summer and that cases and deaths are again beginning to creep back up in October.
The report further broke down the data by county, showing that Whatcom has had 224 cases associated with long-term care facilities and 40 related deaths.
Whatcom had the seventh-most long-term care facility deaths in the state — behind King (501), Spokane (139), Pierce (123), Yakima (121), Snohomish (111) and Benton (77) — and the seventh-most cases in the state — behind King (2,553), Yakima (962), Spokane (862), Pierce (860), Snohomish (821) and Benton (398).
To find which counties’ long-term care facilities had been impacted most, The Bellingham Herald took the numbers in the report and compared them with the county-by-county data released on the state’s coronavirus dashboard as of Wednesday night.
The data showed that Whatcom’s 40 deaths associated with long-term care facilities represent 80% of the 50 total COVID-related deaths the county has seen during the pandemic. That is the third-highest percentage in the state behind only Kittitas’ 95.5% (21 of 22 deaths) and Lewis’ 83.3% (10 of 12 deaths).
The data also showed Whatcom ranked third in the percentage of cases associated with long-term care facilities at 14.1% (224 out of 1,588 total cases). Only Island’s 22.4% (86 of 384 total cases) and Kittitas’ 18.6% (139 of 749 cases) were higher.
The 40 deaths in 224 cases also mean that 17.9% of all COVID cases associated with long-term care facilities in Whatcom County have resulted in death. That is the fourth-highest rate in the state, behind Clark’s 22.7% (17 of 75 cases), King’s 19.6% (501 of 2,553 cases) and Benton’s 19.3% (77 of 398 cases). The overall state average is 15.5%.
Whatcom’s LTC outbreaks
One of the hardest-hit facilities in Whatcom County was Highland Health and Rehabilitation, which saw 38 of 40 residents (95%) and nearly a third of its staff (18 of 60 staff members) test positive for coronavirus during an outbreak from mid-September to mid-October, according to information reported by Whatcom County Health Department Director Erika Lautenbach on Oct. 14.
Lautenbach told the Whatcom County Council on Tuesday that the Highland outbreak has run its course, saying, “Highland, we believe, there is a handle on that, and we are grateful for it.”
The outbreak at Highland is the second large outbreak at a Bellingham nursing facility during the pandemic. The health department reported an outbreak at Shuksan Healthcare on March 22. That outbreak resulted in 54 coronavirus cases — 31 residents and 23 employees — and 10 resident deaths.
The Good Samaritan Society-Stafholt nursing home in Blaine had 13 cases, including 11 residents in late March, while Lynden Manor had 14 residents test positive and two die. Other facilities have also seen smaller outbreaks during the pandemic.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 11:09 AM.
