Beaufort Co. nursing homes see three new coronavirus deaths, more positive cases
Three deaths from COVID-19 and a number of new positive cases were reported at Beaufort County nursing homes in April, according to data released by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on Tuesday.
The data is updated as of Monday. It shows at least four residents and seven staff members have fallen ill to coronavirus at two Beaufort County nursing homes- Fraser Health Center on Hilton Head Island and Beaufort Nursing and Rehab, also known as Bayview Manor, in Beaufort.
The third local nursing home listed by DHEC for new cases - National Healthcare Corporation’s Bluffton rehab facility - did not disclose if the four cases and two COVID-19 deaths were residents or staff members. The facility, which has 120 beds, did not respond to two requests for comment, but told the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette in mid-April that it had three cases - two residents and an employee - but did not any longer.
“We have no patients or partners (employees) in our center at this time with a positive confirmation for COVID-19,” wrote an NHC spokesperson earlier this month.
DHEC’s current data does not reflect that.
The Fraser Health Center saw positive cases double from four to a total of eight and reported its first COVID-19 death.
There is a lag time and a few discrepancies in the agency’s data for the 33-bed center, which is a part of the Seabrook of Hilton Head retirement community, according to executive director Rob Lee.
Lee said the number is actually nine positive coronavirus cases, four of whom are residents and five of whom are staff members.
Of the four residents, two were tested at the facility and two were transferred to Hilton Head Hospital where they tested positive. One of those residents passed away at the hospital, said Lee. He said the staff members are at home recovering.
“Since early March we began temperature checks and a history for all staff entering the property. We expanded that to all residents entering the property and have limited entry to staff, residents and essential vendors such as food service and medical supplies,” said Lee in an email.
“It appears evident that these measures are working as there have been no new cases reported in two weeks for residents and three weeks for staff,” he said.
Bayview Manor, a 170-bed facility, reported one additional coronavirus case for a total of two. Both were employees, according to executive director Sandra Ferguson, and are self-quarantining at home. She said the newest positive case had become infected outside the facility and had not been in the nursing home for ten days. The facility was still required to report that case to DHEC, she said.
“We do not have COVID in the building, and we are doing everything we can to prevent that,” said Ferguson.
She noted that residents wear masks “along with the healthcare workers” and are mostly confined to their rooms. Their temperatures are monitored frequently during different shifts, and employees get their temperatures checked upon entering the facility every day.
One new positive coronavirus case was reported at the Morningside of Beaufort, a 41-suite assisted living facility, its first one, DHEC’s data shows. That case was a staff member who tested positive last week and was sent home to quarantine, according to a staff member at Morningside.
Elderly South Carolina residents are extremely vulnerable to COVID-19, particularly those with underlying health conditions. In addition, nursing homes residents are forced to live in an enclosed space where infection can spread rapidly.
Nearly a quarter of those who have died from coronavirus in the state were patients or employees at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
DHEC said Tuesday that 44 staff and residents of long term care facilities - nursing homes, rehabilitation and assisted living facilities - have died from coronavirus since April 3. The agency said some of the deaths counted could have occurred in S.C. hospitals.
Across South Carolina, 595 residents and staff had been infected in 62 facilities, according to DHEC.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 4:50 AM.
