By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Twelve residents of nursing home facilities in Wood County have tested positive for COVID-19.
No other information about the residents or the facilities is being released by the Wood County Health Department, other than the fact that the long-term care facilities are working with the health department.
“The key is, we’re staying on top of these,” Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Batey said Thursday afternoon. “Obviously that’s a population we’re really concerned about. We’re doing a lot more intensive work with them.”
Amy Jones, director of nursing at Wood County Health Department, said the facilities with residents testing positive are working closely with health department staff.
“We’re making sure they have all the PPE that’s necessary,” she said.
“We are asking them to limit the staff going into rooms, so we’re limiting as much exposure as possible,” Jones said.
And the facilities are being urged to carefully monitor all the employees and residents for symptoms of COVID-19, she said.
Pat Snyder, communications manager with the Wood County Health Department, said she believed the families of all the nursing residents testing positive have been notified.
Snyder said the nursing homes involved have been following advice of the health department.
“They have been very cooperative and been very interested in the protection of their residents,” she said.
Ohio nursing homes are no longer allowed to accept visitors, according to orders from Gov. Mike DeWine.
“Nobody likes not having visitors” at the facilities, Batey said. “Loneliness can have other adverse effects as well.”
However, it is necessary right now because of the vulnerability of the elderly population.
“It’s just a huge challenge,” Batey said.
As of today, Wood County now has 42 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the daily update from the Wood County Health Department.
Two county residents with COVID-19 have died.
Snyder said the efforts made in Wood County to curtail the virus seem to be working.
“It’s unfortunate that we’ve had a couple fatalities,” she said. “We’re hoping all we’re doing is helping.”
Across the nation, outbreaks are occurring in nursing homes, leading administrators to ban visitors, confine patients to their rooms and create sterile wings to treat residents who come down with the disease. People who are elderly and have underlying health problems, are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
