Arissa Viering | 8/3/2020 | Goodday Mineral Wells | COVID-19 Updates
MINERAL WELLS, TX – Recent reports of COVID positive cases in Mineral Wells nursing homes have led the Goodday Mineral Wells team to conduct an investigation to provide further information to the community.
STARTING WITH THE NUMBERS
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, there are 152,281 total COVID-19 confirmed resident cases, 96,648 total suspected resident cases, and 40,273 total resident deaths within nursing homes in the United States.
There are 9,209 residents who have confirmed cases and 1,234 resident deaths due to COVID in the state of Texas.
To see the full breakdown, click here. Per Texas Health and Human Services, a full listing of long-term care facilities impacted by COVID as of 7/20/2020 by county can be seen here.
GREAT CONCERNS FOR COVID WITHIN MINERAL WELLS NURSING HOMES
Mike Page, a Mineral Wells resident, reported concerns for the current precautions being taken at Palo Pinto Nursing Center after the passing of his brother, Thomas (Little Tom) Page, due to COVID-19.
Page reports that Palo Pinto Nursing Center had strict visitation policies and did not allow visitors inside of the nursing facility. Furthermore, masks were mandatory and were worn by both the residents and the staff. Page reports that, despite the use of a mask, his brother contracted COVID-19.
After having tested negative for COVID three different times by Palo Pinto General Hospital (PPGH) and Medical City Fort Worth, Thomas Page returned back to Palo Pinto Nursing Center at the beginning of July. Two weeks later, Thomas Page tested positive for COVID-19 after being admitted to PPGH for further care. Thomas Page was solely transported to outside facilities via ambulance and was required to wear a mask during transport.
“He has had nothing but contact with medical facility people for the last two months. So, how did he come down with it?”
Mike Page
Mike Page was alerted to his brother’s COVID-positive status via phone call from PPGH. Page reports that he was greatly concerned due to his brother’s underlying conditions that placed him at further risk for severe complications secondary to COVID.
Just prior to his brother being transported to PPGH, Mike Page received a phone call from his brother reporting that he was having difficulty breathing:
“It was the first time I ever hung up the phone with him and he said ‘I love you. Goodbye.’ Usually, he says ‘I’ll talk to you later.'”
During his stay at PPGH, Mike Page received updates via phone call of his brother’s status. At first, he awaited the COVID test results. After less than one week of treatment, Thomas Page was in need of transfer to an outside facility that specialized in Infectious Disease. Unfortunately, Thomas Page passed on July 24th, 2020 before the transfer to the outside facility could be made.
“They tried to transfer him out to an Infectious Disease facility, but they could not find a bed . . . So, my brother just laid there and died.”
A LIFE LOST TOO SOON
Thomas Page served as the Chief of Graford Volunteer Fire Department for thirty years before retiring. He was the caretaker of McAdams Cemetery. Thomas spent his life in the service of others within the Palo Pinto County community and had a natural giving and loving spirit. He loved his Lord, Jesus Christ, and always had a way to calm any situation down. His full obituary may be found here.
PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES CURRENTLY BEING TAKEN IN MINERAL WELLS NURSING HOMES
After the passing of his brother, Mike Page had several questions regarding the precautionary measures being taken, visitation policies, quarantine methods, PPE utilization, and the use of masks at Palo Pinto Nursing Center and at other nursing homes within Mineral Wells. Having great concerns for the welfare of other nursing home residents in Mineral Wells and not wishing the same fate upon them, Page reached out for answers.
On 7/31/2020, Palo Pinto General Hospital released the following statement:
“Due to HIPAA regulations, we cannot discuss details of patient care. However, we would like to assure the community that each staff member is thoroughly trained and we provide quality care to every patient at Palo Pinto General Hospital. We take every precaution possible to keep our staff and patients safe. At this time, we have plenty of PPE and patient beds to take care of our community. We want to remind everyone to wear a mask, wash your hands, and social distance so we can all do our part to help combat COVID-19.”
On 7/24/2020, the following statement was released by Palo Pinto Nursing Center and subsequently sent to Goodday Mineral Wells on 7/31/2020:
We are doing everything we can to ensure we stop any spread of this virus within our facility. We are in very close communication with local and state health officials to ensure we are taking the appropriate steps at this time. Our staff and residents are following the recommended preventative actions, we have been restricting visitors from entering our facility for over four months and cancelled all group activities within the building as well per the guidance from CDC, CMS and HHSC as well as local health department authorities.
On 7/20/20, the facility received confirmation that we had COVID-19 positive residents and staff. All staff has been sent home until they are negative and all residents have been isolated on a COVID unit. For the safety of all of our residents and staff we will be closely monitoring them for any signs and/or symptoms of the COVID-19.
Resident safety is a top priority for Palo Pinto Nursing Center. Every resident should have a clean, safe living environment. We agree that the spread of this novel virus is a critical issue that requires attention.
- Palo Pinto Nursing Center is in close contact with our local and state health departments, as well as CDC to stay up to date on the information to prevent and manage the spread of Coronavirus.
- Skilled nursing facilities need to rely on local, state and federal resources to help prevent the spread of this virus.
- Detailed technical assistance from CDC and other public health agencies is necessary to help track and prevent its spread.
- We have reviewed and updated our infection prevention and control plans and our emergency communication plan.
- We have reinforced to our staff that anyone who is sick should stay home.
- We continue to restrict all non-essential personnel, per direction from local health department (as well as the federal/state government).
- All staff in the facility are required to wear masks throughout the facility at all times. This includes all departments, not just direct care staff.
- Family members can interact with their loved ones by using video chat, calling, texting or checking in on social media.
On 7/30/2020, a request for interview was made to the Mineral Wells Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. A response has not yet been received.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Per the CDC, “Given their congregate nature and resident population served (e.g., older adults often with underlying chronic medical conditions), nursing home populations are at high risk of being affected by respiratory pathogens like COVID-19 and other pathogens, including multidrug-resistant organisms . . . As demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a strong infection prevention and control (IPC) program is critical to protect both residents and healthcare personnel (HCP).” To find out further information on how COVID-19 is spread within nursing homes and how to prevent the spread, click here.
The community is encouraged to stay vigilant in taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. For further information on how to prevent COVID-19, click here.
Check out the video below covering the importance of preventing further COVID-19 spread in Mineral Wells:
Sources:
https://data.cms.gov/stories/s/COVID-19-Nursing-Home-Data/bkwz-xpvg/
https://hhs.texas.gov/services/health/coronavirus-covid-19
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/long-term-care.html
