HARTFORD, CT — Nursing home deaths continue to slow as the state mandates testing of all patients and workers for COVID-19 at Connecticut nursing homes.
The weekly statistics from the Department of Public Health show deaths in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities increasing by 144 over last week, an increase of 6%. Positive cases of the coronavirus jumped by 195 or 2.3%.
Overall, nursing homes continued to account for 63% of all the coronavirus-related fatalities in Connecticut through June 3, and assisted living facilities accounted for 8.4%, according to the latest DPH numbers.
There have been 4,007 coronavirus deaths in Connecticut and 2,542 have happened in nursing homes, while 337 have happened in assisted-living facilities.
Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut, and Matthew Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, said the data shows that nursing home residents continue to recover from the virus.
“Thousands of nursing home residents with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 are presenting as having recovered from the virus based on the data released,” the two said in a press release. “Official recovery statistics are anticipated to be included in future weekly reports. The recovery dynamic is testimony to the perseverance and dedication of the nursing home employees and their determination to get nursing home residents to a place of recovery in battling the highly contagious virus.”
More than half of the nursing home residents in Connecticut’s 215 nursing homes have been tested. Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order Monday requiring all nursing home workers to also be tested. Nursing home employee testing is in the final planning stages and expected to launch in the next few days.
Some, but not all nursing homes, had begun testing their employees along with their residents.
The latest weekly data shows that the nursing homes with the highest number of positive patients include Arden House in Hamden, with 171, followed by Riverside Health and Rehab Center in East Hartford with 152; Litchfield Woods in Torrington, with 127; and St. Joseph’s Center in Trumbull with 122 and the Silver Springs Care Center in Meriden with 121, according to DPH.
Riverside Health and Rehab Center in East Hartford reported 59 COVID-19 deaths, followed by Abbott Terrace Health Center of Waterbury with 46; Kimberly Hall North in Windsor with 44; and Shady Knoll Health Center in Seymour, with 41, according to DPH.
The officials from the Department of Public Health said they are having conversations about providing recovery numbers.
“We are having conversations about this. Recovery is very difficult to define and tease out from our current data. It is also not required by CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] as a nursing home reporting measure,” Dr. Vivian Leung, of DPH, said.