ANDERSON — After state officials said 15 people have died in long-term care facilities in Madison County, new guidelines are being established.
Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said a new order will require long-term care facilities to report to the Indiana State Department of Health and local health departments within 24 hours any known or suspected outbreak of COVID-19. That order includes employees.
She also said these facilities should make sure to notify residents and their families of a resident who has died or tested positive for COVID-19.
Dr. Dan Rusyniak, chief medical officer for the Indiana Family and Social Services Agency, said the best way to prevent COVID-19 in a long-term care facility is to restrict people from entering.
He said there should be no communal dining and facilities should check everyone entering.
“This is a perfect storm in long-term care facilities,” he said. “There are large numbers of vulnerable people congregating together.”
Rusyniak said there are 11 strike teams in place in Indiana; they were originally created to deal with the state’s hepatitis A outbreak in 2017.
He said the first wave during a visit to a long-term care facility is to test suspected cases. The second wave takes place if there are positive results and review practices and isolation.
The third wave takes place if there are multiple deaths.
Rusyniak said the state is working on a plan to test people who were in close proximity to someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
He said as the state approaches the expected surge, which is projected for April 19, the state might have to increase capacity at long-term care facilities.
“We might need to have dedicated COVID-19 facilities for people coming out of the hospitals, but not well enough to go home or to a previous nursing home.”
Box said Monday that 11 residents of Bethany Pointe in Anderson had died due to COVID-19. On Tuesday, she said four people had died of the coronavirus at Summit Health & Living in Summitville.
Box said Wednesday that 31 of Indiana’s 203 deaths from the novel coronavirus have been in long-term care facilities.
Almost half of those deaths are reported to have been in Madison County.
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