Bridgeville Rehabilitation and Care Center reports sharp rise in covid-19 cases, 2 deaths
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Editor’s note: This story was updated at 12:23 Nov. 17 with the latest numbers from Bridgeville Rehabilitation and Care Center.
A long-term care facility in South Fayette has seen a substantial increase in covid-19 cases among staff and residents since Nov. 4.
Bridgeville Rehabilitation and Care Center reported Tuesday that 100 of its residents and 53 staff members have tested positive for the virus. Four people have died.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by covid-19 during this difficult time, especially the families of the two residents who passed away,” said Richard Feifer, the facility’s Chief Medical Officer.
The 194-bed facility had between one and four residents and 10 staff members test positive for covid-19 on Nov. 4. The state redacts the exact number of cases when that number is below five and not zero.
Then, Nov. 10, the state reported 19 residents and 24 staff members tested positive. When that data was released, the center had zero covid-related deaths.
The Allegheny County Health Department considers that number of cases as an outbreak, said Amie Downs, the county’s Communication Director.
The Health Department contacts long-term care facilities as soon as it learns of a case and offers assistance through the state’s Regional Response Health Collaboration Program.
Bridgeville Rehab is owned by Genesis HealthCare Inc., a holding company with around 400 nursing and senior care centers in 26 states.
“Additional staff has been brought in to temporarily support the center during this difficult time to ensure the safety and care of our residents,” Feifer said. “Once we identified the presence of covid-19 at our center, we immediately tested all residents and staff and will continue testing twice weekly until further notice.”
He added that covid-19 is a “complex virus” and that as more tests were administered, more patients who were asymptomatic were discovered.
“That is why testing is so important with this virus, so that we can appropriately cohort the positive patients and residents away from those who are negative,” he said.
Feifer pointed out that the facility has “been stringent with restrictions and a whole host of other precautions.” He said the facility has followed all protocols and guidelines to curb the spread of the disease.
In many cases, Feifer said, the facility has “gotten out in front of public health guidelines, adopting even more stringent infection precautions than were recommended at the time. We also continue to follow the direction of the Pennsylvania Department of Health in an effort to contain and minimize the spread of the virus.”
Some of those extra efforts have included screening residents and patients three times daily, requiring all staff to wear personal protective equipment, restricting visitations and canceling all outside medical appointments except for necessary, time-sensitive and life-saving treatments like dialysis and chemotherapy.
A more comprehensive list, organized in a timeline fashion, of the facility’s measures can be found on Genesis’ website.
The news at the center comes amid rising cases in Allegheny County and across the state.
The state recorded 4,476 new cases Monday and 5,199 on Sunday. Allegheny County saw a two-day increase of more than 1,000 cases: 500 on Monday and 527 on Sunday.