Coronavirus cases confirmed in 20 assisted living, nursing facilities
Twenty assisted-living and nursing facilities in Nevada have confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, according to a state report released this week.
All three assisted-living homes with reports of the disease are in Clark County, according to the Wednesday report by the Division of Public and Behavioral Health.
There are also 15 skilled-nursing facilities in Southern Nevada with cases and two in Washoe County.
The cases, as of Wednesday, include residents and faculty members.
The number of cases in some homes already has been made public. The state Veterans Home in Boulder City announced Friday that eight employees have tested positive for the coronavirus. Six residents had previously tested positive.
One resident, an 86-year-old Navy Korean War veteran, died March 28 from complications related to COVID-19 after he was taken from the home and admitted to a hospital.
The state also is investigating a coronavirus outbreak that killed two residents at the Lakeside Health and Wellness nursing home in Reno.
The Division of Public and Behavioral Health said in the report that it provided the list of facilities to “promote safety and an abundance of prevention and control.”
But it is not releasing case counts for each facility, “as these numbers can change rapidly,” the report said.
Kevin Dick, the Washoe County health officer, said in the county’s virtual news conference Friday that his agency will have some additional capabilities to test more people in the nursing and assisted-living facilities and is weighing health care and long-term care priorities for where to collect samples.
“That’s something that we’re working with planning on right now based on our anticipation of having additional test collection kits available in the future,” he said, adding that the state will prioritize people who have symptoms and vulnerable populations.
“We prioritize health care workers and first responder personnel with that. But as we have more testing available, we’ll expand that with prioritizing in those health care settings.”
According to the two-page report, the state developed guidelines to help facilities navigate social distancing and cleaning procedures and to restrict visitors. The Office of Public Health Informatics and Epidemiology began daily surveillance of residents and staff who show symptoms.
As cases are identified, the state is working with facilities to implement infection control procedures by separating symptomatic patients from those who are not and testing those with high exposure to the case.
The homes with cases are:
■ Advanced Health Care of Summerlin.
■ Delmar Gardens in Henderson.
■ Harmon Hospital in Las Vegas.
■ HearthStone of Northern Nevada in Sparks.
■ Heights of Summerlin.
■ Horizon Health and Rehabilitation Center in Las Vegas.
■ Las Vegas Post Acute and Rehabilitation.
■ Lakeside Health and Wellness in Reno.
■ Life Care Center of Las Vegas.
■ Merrill Gardens of Green Valley Ranch.
■ North Las Vegas Care Center.
■ NeuroRestorative4kids in Summerlin.
■ Premier Health and Rehab in Las Vegas.
■ Prestige Senior Living at Mira Loma in Henderson.
■ Silver Hills Health Care Center in northwest Las Vegas.
■ Silver Ridge Health Care Center.
■ Silver Sky Deer Springs Assisted Living in northwest Las Vegas.
■ Veterans Home in Boulder City.
■ TLC Care Center in Henderson.
■ Transitional Care of Las Vegas.
Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Bill Dentzer contributed to this report.
