“They had an outbreak. They’ve been working to address it,” said Warren County Health Commissioner Duane Stansbury.
The center and other nursing homes in Warren County are complying with new regulations on testing, based on the overall positivity rate in Warren County, requiring employees to be tested once a week, Stansbury said.
The outbreak was detected as a result of continued testing begun with the weekly staff testing, Stansbury said.
“They’ve responded well to this outbreak,” he said, adding that no reports on hospitalizations or fatalities at the nursing home had been provided to his office on Wednesday.
According to the state website reporting cases at long-term care facilities, the numbers "reflect current and cumulative cases of COVID-19 among facility staff and residents reported to the Ohio Department of Health. Current case counts are defined as residents or staff that had active COVID-19 infection during the prior week (Wednesday through Tuesday).”
All 32 cases were new, according to the state site.
Inspectors visit nursing homes after clusters of positive cases are reported.
As of a Sept. 14 inspection, the nursing home, with 79 beds and 52 residents, was in compliance with infection control and emergency preparedness regulations, according to an inspection report.
On Wednesday, officials at the home did not reply to requests for additional information or comments about the state report.
“At Embassy Healthcare, we are taking COVID-19 very seriously and are taking all necessary measures to keep our residents and staff healthy,” according to an April 1 posting on the Lebanon Healthcare Center about limiting visitors.
"As you may have already heard, the state and federal regulatory agencies have recommended that nursing home centers in, or adjacent to, counties with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are limiting visitors. Due to confirmed cases in surrounding counties, Embassy Healthcare is taking preventative measures to keep our residents safe.
"We are temporarily suspending visiting hours in our skilled nursing and assisted living buildings. We have also postponed all group events within our communities. We recognize it is important for you to be in contact with your loved ones and are working to arrange virtual visits.
“Only personnel who are absolutely necessary to the operation of the Center will be granted access. The only exception we will make to this policy is for visitation for extenuating circumstances such as residents at the end of life. Anyone entering the building will be screened to limit our exposure.”
In May, the state reported 55 new COVID-19 cases since April involving 39 residents and 16 staffers at the 83-bed CedarView Nursing Care and Rehabilitation in Lebanon.
As of Sept. 21, the state reported 12,303 resident and 7,259 staff cases at long-term care facilities since April 15, according to Ohio’s COVID-19 dashboard.
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