By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Thirty-one residents and staff at nursing home facilities in Wood County have confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19.
As of today, the local cases are limited to two long-term care facilities in Perrysburg. There are 16 cases at Manor of Perrysburg, and 15 at Kingston Residence of Perrysburg, according to the Wood County Health Department,
Earlier this week, Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton signed an order requiring all nursing homes and residential care facilities in Ohio to notify residents and their guardians of positive or probable COVID-19 cases in the facility. The order includes cases involving residents and staff members.
The facilities are required to make notifications within 24 hours after the cases become known. The sites are also required to report on the steps being taken by the facility to reduce the spread of the virus.
The Ohio Department of Health is listing the cases reported at long-term care facilities throughout the state.
As of today’s report from the Wood County Health Department, there are 69 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in the county. Five people in the county with the virus have died.
Twenty-eight are hospitalized, with two being at Wood County Hospital as of Tuesday.
The age range of those in the county with the virus is 20 to 96, with the median age of 60. Of those with the virus, 41 are female, 28 are male.
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.
The Wood County Health Department is working closely with local nursing home facilities.
“We’re staying on top of these,” Wood County Health Commissioner Ben Batey said last week. “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 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.
