Wilmington Nursing Home Delays Becoming Coronavirus Care Center After 51 Residents Test Positive
WILMINGTON (CBS) -- A Wilmington nursing home that was slated to become a coronavirus care center will delay plans to do so after 51 of the 98 residents set to leave the facility tested positive for the coronavirus while showing no symptoms.
Pointe Group Care, LLC, operator of AdviniaCare at Wilmington, said the the facility, which was going to be a 142-bed coronavirus recovery center, is separating those who have tested positive for the virus from those who have not, and that staff will now be tested.
"Residents who have tested positive will be isolated from those who did not, and will receive the specialized care and support provided by staff and a team from Partners," the company said in a statement Friday.
Point Group said it has been strictly following state guidance and working with the command center since the beginning of the outbreak.
"To say we are surprised by the findings would be an understatement," said Chris Hannon, chief operating officer at Pointe Group Care. "Considering how aggressive we have been, this points to how insidious this virus is; we are fighting an invisible enemy. We are ensuring that residents with the illness get the specialized care and support that they need."
The facility was chosen by the state to become a recovery center because of its location, capacity and infrastructure as part of a statewide effort to expand space for treating coronavirus patients. That change will now be delayed, and it is unclear when it will now begin.
"The testing protocol that was put in place at the facility prevented further spread of the disease," said Dr. Chuck Tsun-Zhi Pu, of Partners HealthCare. "It makes clear the challenging clinical circumstances that we are all operating under, and the important role that testing plays in battling this pandemic."
