Wallingford Nursing Home To Be Used For Coronavirus Recovery

WALLINGFORD, CT — A Wallingford nursing home has been added to the list of coronavirus recovery centers in Connecticut, but officials are not yet certain when it will begin to accept patients. The state Department of Public Health has announced that Quinnipiac Valley Center, located at 55 Kondtracki Lane, will dedicate a portion of its facility to patients who require additional care after they are released from the hospital after being treated for the new coronavirus.

On Tuesday, the Wallingford Police Department announced the local facility would be used as a coronavirus recovery and alternative care center, which would allow local hospital beds to be freed up, according to a statement from police Lt. Cheryl Bradley.

Officials from the nursing home said Wednesday that the facility will operate with 34 beds, but indicated it is too early to announce how much of the facility will be dedicated to the recovery operation. Lori Mayer, the spokeswoman for Quinnipiac Valley said that the Connecticut National Guard arrived on Wednesday to begin setting up beds and possibly building a wall for the portion of the nursing home that will be used for coronavirus recovery.

Mayer said as that as of Wednesday, there is no “go-live date” for when the center will begin to be used. Quinnipiac Valley is the sixth nursing home in the state to be chosen to be used in the state’s ongoing response to the pandemic, Mayer said. Mayer said the facility is in the “very, very beginning stages” of converting a portion of the nursing home for recovery purposes.

“Quinnipiac Valley Center is pleased to assist the state and area hospitals with managing the surge of COVID-19 patients they are starting to experience,” Dr, Richard Feifer, Chief Medical Officer said in a release. “At this time, local hospitals have dozens of stable COVID-19 patients but have been unable to discharge them to post-acute rehabilitation facilities for the duration of the virus. Quinniapiac Valley Center will be key in helping them to open up needed hospital beds as the pandemic continues to expand in our community and state.”

An executive order issued by Gov. Ned Lamont on April 11 authorized Public Health Commissioner Renee D. Coleman to designate alternative care facilities across the state for the duration of the pandemic.

“Residents of long-term care facilities represent our most vulnerable population during this pandemic, as the virus can spread quickly within the enclosed environment such as a nursing home,” Coleman-Mitchell said in a statement. “We are committed to doing everything we can to make sure our nursing home residents get the care they need and that nursing home staff are protected with enough equipment.”

“These new COVID-19 recovery facilities will provide hundreds of new beds for COVID-19 care all over the state, and this will help to make hospital beds available to absorb the surge of hospitalizations we anticipate in the next couple of weeks.”