Coronavirus outbreak at Visalia nursing home – two health care workers among the ill
A Visalia nursing home on Wednesday announced that eight people at its center – six patients and two healthcare professionals – have tested positive for COVID-19.
Redwood Springs Healthcare Center is a 176-bed skilled nursing facility in the central San Joaquin Valley.
The affected staff there experienced an onset of coronavirus symptoms while caring for two patients in one room, nursing home leaders said in a news release.
“Both healthcare professionals and the six patients are now isolated from the other residents and staff,” the center wrote. “Redwood Springs Healthcare Center is also working in close coordination with county health officials to test and monitor everyone else in the facility.”
There have been two coronavirus deaths in Tulare County. COVID-19 cases are rising daily throughout the Valley.
Anita Hubbard, administrator of Redwood Springs, said the nursing home has been “vigilant and early for weeks in adopting the practices and protocols that have been directed by Centers for Disease Control, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, state and county guidance to protect the frail and vulnerable residents entrusted to our care.”
“Our top priority remains the health and well-being of everyone in our facility.“
The center said its protocols and practices include strict visitor restrictions, screening staff and medically-essential visitors, curtailing communal activities, monitoring patient conditions more frequently, infection control practices across the facility, increasing disinfections, increasing its inventory of protection equipment, and preparing isolation areas.
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 3:12 PM.
