Two of the largest COVID-19 nursing home outbreaks in Pennsylvania have continued to grow, with new cases of the disease reported Tuesday at a private nursing home in Beaver County and the Allegheny County-owned nursing home in Glen Hazel.
And that growing count has ratcheted up the tension at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Beaver County, where the owners said in a statement that the number of positive cases has grown from 19 on Monday to 26 on Tuesday, with 18 tests still pending and more tests to be done. Two residents died Monday after contracting the disease.
That number of cases, though, is just for those residents being cared for in the nursing home, the statement said. The statement did not include either the two patients who died, or those being cared for in the local hospital.
What the home’s owners and management have also not said is that some employees of Brighton have also tested positive for COVID-19, according to SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the union that represents the 300 non-management employees who work there.
Denise Cox, a union organizer at Brighton, said at least six employees have tested positive, and there may be more who have gotten tested on their own.
“And some people reached out to me and said they were sick” and suspect they also have been infected, Ms. Cox said. Some of them have walked off the job.
The situation has gotten tense among staff members, who are upset that they don’t have proper protective equipment to care for a home with 450 residents and a significant portion of them now positive for COVID-19.
“It’s very stressful in there now,” a staff member who, like a half-dozen staff members, asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation.
Matthew Yarnell, president of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, said it’s understandable that people are walking out.
“People are walking out because they feel unsafe and unsupported,” he said.
That said, Mr. Yarnell said he hopes Brighton’s management can solve the protective equipment problem so employees can come back and do their work.
“The biggest thing here is, this is no time to be pointing fingers; it’s a pandemic,” he said.
The union set a meeting for Wednesday with Brighton’s management — the first such meeting during the outbreak.
“It has been very hard for [Brighton management] to communicate with us,” he said.
The problems with protective equipment has caused problems between front-line staff and management.
“The office people have N95 masks, but we don’t,” said another Brighton staff member.
“They just give us these,” the staff member said, holding up what is essentially a paper mask. “Just basic masks. And we’re supposed to keep these for a week” before getting rid of them.
At least one staff member quit over the shortage of N95 masks this week, according to a story by WTAE Channel 4 Pittsburgh.
“We were unprepared for this,” said another employee. “The whole country was unprepared for this.”
Staff members say for the last week, central office personnel won’t even come out of their office to talk to the floor staff, posting a note that says if they want to talk to them, they have to call or email.
The lack of protective equipment became a big enough problem that the state Department of Health’s public health preparedness coordinator for the region, Perry Fox, was told at midday Tuesday to load his car as full of personal protective equipment — gloves, masks, face masks and gowns — as he could and drive it 90 minutes from his office in Greensburg to Brighton.
“They say go, and I go,” Mr. Fox said as he was headed back to his office Tuesday. “That’s my job.”
Brighton’s statement indicated the owners thought the problem was being addressed.
“Brighton continues with assistance of its vendors and other operators as well as the Health Department and the Epidemiology team to secure necessary personal protective devices,” the statement said. “It has a program for fit testing N-95 masks for our staff and are using all categories of recommended PPEs. We are fortunate that unlike many other facilities we have acquired N-95 masks as well as surgical masks, sanitizer, goggles and the like.”
In Allegheny County, the county-owned nursing home in Glen Hazel’s positive COVID-19 cases grew from two to 10 among residents, and another staff member also tested positive, increasing the staff count to two cases, according to Dennis Biondo, director of Kane Community Living Centers.
Five more tests are pending at the home for residents, and 12 more are pending for staff members, none of whom are working at the home until their test results are returned negative, Mr. Biondo said in an emailed statement.
“Staff generally go to their PCP, so we may not have all information as it relates to staff tests, although we continue to enforce not allowing sick employees to work,” he said. “We have also continued to monitor those employees at home while they recover or await test results.”
Brighton said in its statement it has had success in treating residents who have tested positive.
“The good news is that the vast majority of people infected [globally] have mild to moderate symptoms including those at nursing homes,” the nursing home said, in part, in its emailed statement Tuesday. “Likewise, Brighton has had preliminary treatment success for those with the virus. Our Medical Director, Dr. David Thimons, has established treatment protocols and is following an aggressive treatment plan. At Brighton, yesterday there were several residents who required oxygen who today are maintaining good oxygen saturation levels without assistance. Fourteen Residents, who tested positive, have shown improvement.
“That said, as has been the case in other environments and nursing homes around the Country, we have seen and expect for COVID-19 to be more severe and fatal in some cases. Brighton as a community mourns with those who within and outside our community have lost loved ones,” the release added.
The same statement also celebrated Brighton’s employees who are “world class and showing it.”
“We are unbelievably proud of those who bravely walk through our doors each day to care for and improve the lives of our residents,” it added. “When you have a chance, please thank a nurse, a doctor, a dietician, an aid, a member of the facility housekeeping or maintenance staff, and the others who are responding to the call to duty and putting residents first.”
But staff describe the operation inside as “chaotic” and “scary” for staff and residents.
As the case count has grown, one staffer who works with residents said that “They’re asking if they’re going to die.”
“We talk to them and we try to keep them as calm as possible,” the staffer said.
Sean D. Hamill: shamill@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2579 or Twitter: @SeanDHamill
First Published: April 1, 2020, 12:09 a.m.
