Teams Deploy To 'Educate, Equip' Workers At Care Centers: RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — After more than 80 patients — including 34 who had earlier tested positive for coronavirus — were evacuated from the Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riverside and transferred to different locations throughout the county last week, Riverside University Health System announced Tuesday that "specialized teams" are fanning out across the county to help educate and equip employees at licensed care facilities.

Four teams consisting of workers from American Medical Response and other healthcare partners are taking on the responsibility, said Kim Saruwatari, director of public health for the county. Beginning Tuesday, the teams are targeting specific county regions — northwest, southwest, central and eastern — and are working with staff members at each facility "to demonstrate proper safety techniques, provide proper safety gear and educate them about COVID-19 to dispel rumors and correct erroneous information," according to a county news release.

Officials plan to share more information about the effort Tuesday during a 2:30 p.m. livestream event. Watch here.

“There has been so much incorrect information that has spread that many employees in these facilities are scared to show up for work,” Saruwatari said. “Information is power, and by providing these employees with accurate information about how COVID-19 is and is not spread, they will be confident when they report to work.”

Saruwatari said the teams are also providing facilities with the proper personal protection equipment.

The effort aims to prevent the situation that occurred earlier this month at Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. Medical care workers with the county and Kaiser Permanente stepped in to care for patients at the Riverside center after employees at the facility failed to show up for their assigned shifts. In addition to COVID-19-positive patients, some employees at the facility were also confirmed to have the illness. RELATED: Abandoned By Caretakers, 83 Nursing Home Patients Evacuated

It is not immediately clear why the workers abandoned their shifts.

According to a GoFundMe post, 20-year-old Valeria Viveros worked at a Riverside skilled nursing facility and died Friday at Corona Regional Medical Center from COVID-19 complications. It is not clear which facility she worked at.

"Her mother, father, sister, and brother are in shock, mourning, and in quarantine," the GoFundMe post reads.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, the post had raised more that $22,000 for the family.

Viveros lived in Corona, according to a report from The Press-Enterprise.

It is unknown how many workers like Viveros may be infected with COVID-19 in the county and how many may have died. The county has not provided that information. As of early Tuesday afternoon, there are 1,961 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county and 50 deaths related to the illness.

During a news briefing Friday, Riverside University Health System's Dr. Michael Mesisca told listeners that health officials are very concerned about "congregate living" locations in the county — nursing homes, dementia care units, jails, and others facilities that house many people in close quarters. Overall, there are 327 such facilities countywide, he said.

Rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes present a challenge for health officials due to the age and health conditions of the residents, as well as their close proximity to each other. The county prioritizes investigations in these facilities due to the high risk of serious illness that outbreaks pose, according to Tuesday's news release.

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