Seniors ‘terrified’ as COVID-19 rampages through Nevada nursing homes

Nursing homes and assisted living centers now account for more than 16 percent of reported COVID-19 deaths in Nevada according to new data published Monday.

The data was posted by the Department of Health and Human Services on its nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website in a new tracking tool for state-run or -regulated institutions. As of Monday, it listed 43 sites across the state that have been infected with the virus — 33 in Clark County, seven in Washoe County, two in Carson City and one in White Pine County.

One facility, Silver Hills Health Care Center in Las Vegas, had 52 confirmed cases of the disease caused by the new coronavirus — more than five times as many as it had on Friday. In addition to the 45 residents and seven staff members who have tested positive at the skilled nursing home, one resident died.

Institutional living facilities that serve seniors and others who are at higher risk of the most serious infections have been hard hit by the easily spread virus.

According to the early data compiled by state investigators, poor hand-washing hygiene has emerged as the No. 1 factor in the spread of COVID-19 in skilled nursing homes and similar communal care facilities in Nevada.

A national problem

At least 8,496 deaths nationwide have been linked to outbreaks in nursing homes and long-term-care facilities, according to reporting by The Associated Press, which based its figure on local media reports and state health departments.

On Monday, Seema Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, described the homes as ground zero of the coronavirus crisis. She announced plans to start tracking and publicly sharing information on infections and deaths in such facilities to help spot trends and early signs the virus is spreading in communities.

In Nevada, HHS analysts, compliance officers and epidemiologists also are attempting to use the data they have gathered “to identify, control and contain the spread of COVID-19 among our most vulnerable residents living within skilled nursing and assisted living facilities,” according to a news release from the state’s COVID-19 response team.

The speed with which the virus has been spreading — the 26 deaths reported so far in state nursing homes account for more than 16 percent of the state total of 158 deaths — means they will have to reach quick conclusions if they are to stem the toll.

The hardest-hit facility in the state is Willow Springs Center, a behavioral inpatient facility in Reno, with 58 cases — 36 among residents and 22 among staff. One staff member also has died.

Lakeside Health & Wellness Suites in Reno, with 46 cases, has had the most deaths with seven: six residents and one staff member. That was three more than the facility reported Friday.

At Premier Health and Rehabilitation Center of Las Vegas, the number of total cases doubled from Friday to 40. Three residents have died.

At Horizon Health and Rehabilitation Center in Las Vegas, there have been 66 cases, compared with 43 reported Friday. Two residents have died.

The number of cases at The Heights of Summerlin jumped from 13 to 33, with 25 residents and eight staff members infected. Two residents died.

The number of cases at Prestige Senior Living at Mira Loma in Henderson has gone from eight to 15, with nine residents and six staffers testing positive. One resident has died.

Operators of the homes did not immediately respond to requests for comment by the Review-Journal late Monday.

Seniors are ‘terrified’

B.J. Wright, director of community engagement for DispatchHealth Urgent Care Las Vegas, which primarily sends nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants to senior living communities to treat patients, called the rate of increase in cases at these facilities “disturbing.”

She said her business has received about 1,000 more calls than average since the coronavirus outbreak began in the state from seniors who are “terrified.”

“The seniors in these congregate communities, they are helpless. We need more testing, testing, testing,” she said.

Though DispatchHealth doesn’t treat those in nursing homes, Wright said the facilities usually have larger populations and more medical issues.

“At nursing homes, there are many CNAs or caregivers that have multiple jobs. So they might work several shifts at multiple homes, so the potential to spread the virus is very strong,” she said.

“I think there’s a whole list of things. It’s the hand washing. It’s the hygiene for everybody — the housekeeping, the dining (servers and cooks), anybody who comes into your room.”

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this report.