HARTFORD, CT — For the first time Thursday, the state of Connecticut released a list of the number of COVID-19 positive patients and deaths at every nursing home in the state. It shows half of the state’s nursing homes have had infections from the coronavirus.
The highest number of cases is at Abbott Terrace Health Center in Waterbury, which has 69 cases and 15 deaths. The second-highest number of cases was at Golden Hill Rehab Pavilion in Milford, which has 67 cases and 9 deaths
The highest number of deaths has been at Whispering Pines in East Haven, which has 32 cases and 24 deaths.
Parkway Pavilion Health and Rehabilitation Center in Enfield has 45 cases and 8 deaths, The Willows in Woodbridge has 43 cases and 9 deaths, Apple Shelton Lakes has 40 cases and 13 deaths, Litchfield Woods in Torrington has 38 cases and 12 death, Suffield House in Suffield has 35 cases and 8 deaths, Cassena Care at Stamford has 34 cases and 5 deaths, while Evergreen Health Care Center in Stafford Springs has 30 cases and 10 deaths.
There are a total of 1,713 positive cases and 375 deaths in 108 of the state’s 216 nursing homes, as of 8 a.m. on April 14.
Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer, said every Thursday they will be releasing the nursing home data along with the race, age, and ethnicity data from the Department of Public Health.
An estimated 11% of the total number of nursing home beds have seen infections and 2% have died.
“We know this is a highly at-risk population,” Geballe said. “The teams are doing great work in our nursing homes to really protect those residents.”
Last weekend, Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order establishing COVID-19 recovery centers in two nursing homes in Sharon and Bridgeport.
The two nursing homes run by Athena Health Care Systems are Sharon Health Care Center and Northbridge Healthcare Center.
“Connecticut nursing homes have followed all of the guidance and best practices made available by state and federal authorities to keep Covid-19 from entering the building,” Matthew Barrett, president and CEO, of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, said. “The data continues to show that Covid-19 is making its way indiscriminately into nursing homes in Connecticut and across the Nation. This means that nursing home operators and employees who are doing all the right things will have to battle the virus through no fault of their own. We must focus on these heroic efforts and use the data to win the battle.”
Barrett said that the virus can be carried and spread by people who show no symptoms. And once it enters a building, it becomes very difficult to contain.
Every day, nursing home staff do their part to aggressively prevent and mitigate the spread, while delivering compassionate care under challenging circumstances. Connecticut’s nursing homes are now caring for hundreds of older adults who are battling this virus and are serving as a pillar within the health care system’s plan of defense against the pandemic.
Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut said, “Nursing homes are serving a vital role in the health care response to this virus and nursing home staff is on the front line. They must be prioritized for PPE and testing supplies—particularly as nursing homes statewide have assumed increased responsibilities as partners to hospitals in caring for COVID-19 patients. The data should inform these supply decisions.”
As of Thursday there have been 15,884 laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 971 deaths in Connecticut. There are currently 1,927 patients in hospitals.