Ten residents and 11 staff members have tested positive for covid-19 at Concordia at Cabot in Butler County, which includes both a skilled nursing and an assisted living facility.
All 10 residents are in the Lund Personal Care Center (Bachman Hall), an assisted living section of the campus, along with eight of the covid-positive staff members.
Three other staff members tested positive in the skilled nursing home section.
“When you get into the roller coaster of short, interval, universal testing, you expect the numbers to fluctuate a bit,” said Frank Skrip, director of public relations for Concordia.
Skrip said the Jefferson Township facility, which is part of a large regional network, has more than enough personal protective equipment , staff members and other resources to keep up with the positive cases. He named several disinfecting and sanitizing measures the facility is using, including fogging machines that exude disinfectant “liberally,” and an ultraviolet system in the ductwork.
Skrip said Concordia has yet to fall victim to the staffing shortages that have troubled many long-term care facilities statewide.
He said there is a corporate nursing team that’s able to fill in wherever it’s most needed. According to state documents, as of 2019, Concordia employed about 120 staff members at the Cabot facility.
Experts have said infections within long-term care facilities become extremely likely as community transmission rises in the region.
Skrip said Concordia continually educates and asks employees to “do the right things when you punch out,” and use caution in public spaces.
The state Department of Health has identified a positivity rate of 10% in Butler County and a covid-19 incidence rate of 249 cases for every 100,000 residents.
“The nature of this pandemic has been that as much education that you do and as much preparation and everything that you do, you’re bound to get a case at some point,” he said. “And when you get one, it’s a challenge.”
