Two Care Homes In Canton Report Coronavirus Cases, 1 Death

CANTON, GA — Two Canton personal care homes have reported either sick staff members or residents, or a resident who died from the coronavirus, the Georgia Department of Public Health said in a report released Friday.

The report includes COVID-19 activity for all licensed nursing homes, all licensed assisted living communities, and licensed personal care homes of 25 beds or more.

Retreat at Canton, 3333 East Cherokee Dr., has eight residents who have become ill from the coronavirus and one resident death. Six staff member have also tested positive as of Friday. The 50 other residents are not sick.

Phoenix Senior Living is a provider of care for seniors in the southeast, including Retreat at Canton.

"In response to the international crisis with the evolving COVID-19 virus, we remain committed to serving all seniors, including those directly affected by this pandemic," the company said in an April 4 press release. "Through our years of serving seniors, we have a proven track record of partnering with regulatory agencies and the healthcare system to care for our beloved seniors. This experience positions us well to safely care for seniors as well as others with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic or exhibit only mild symptoms that don't require 24-hour nursing care."

Wickshire Canton, 125 Riverside Terrace, has reported one of its 56 residents has become ill with the coronavirus.

It said it has implemented policies, including:

• Allowing only essential visitors, those providing needed essential care for residents
• Essential visitors are screened via COVID-19 questionnaire.
  • Visitors answering yes to any question are prohibited from visiting
• No one under the age of 18 may enter the community
• No outside pets allowed
• Frequent hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water, washing for at least 20 seconds.
• Frequent disinfecting of commonly touched environmental surfaces to decrease environmental contamination.
• Standard precautions, such as wearing masks, gloves and gowns as situations warrant their use.

Casey Byrnes, Wickshire Senior Living vice president of sales and marketing, said the health and safety of Wickshire Senior Living’s residents and team members remain its top priority.

"We take our responsibility to support older adults and their families seriously, and we are especially committed to continuing to do so during this time. In doing so, we continue to actively monitor the situation and we are committed to being open and transparent about the steps we are taking to keep our residents and team members healthy and safe.

"We are continuing to follow CDC and Georgia Department of Health guidelines including restricting non-essential visitors. Information on our screening process may be found here.

"We ask that you please contact us to learn more about the restrictions Wickshire has strictly set in place. We will continue to welcome older adults who need care at this time who pass our specified screening protocols set in place in compliance with the CDC and the Georgia Department of Health. We will also continue to collaborate with our local healthcare partners on assessment criteria to determine whether any current residents who may have left the community may return to their home safely. We take our responsibility to provide a safe and nurturing home for our residents seriously, and we will continue to provide updates until this pandemic has cleared."

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As of Monday at noon, 312 cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths total were reported in Cherokee County by the Georgia Department of Health.

Nursing homes and long-term care facilities have been hit especially hard — with 250 deaths out of 689 total as of Friday across Georgia, such facilities account for more than a third of the state's deaths. Older people and those with chronic underlying conditions are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus.

The Department of Public Health released responses to commonly asked questions:

Where can I find COVID-19 information on a facility type not included in this report?

If you are seeking COVID-19 information for a facility type not included in this listing, contact the facility itself or the Department of Public Health. Facilities are required to report outbreaks to the Georgia Department of Public Health, so it is possible that the Department of Public Health may have responsive information.

Why is the Georgia Department of Community Health releasing this report now?

Surveyors within the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division of the Department of Public Health have been contacting long-term care facilities for several weeks to provide monitoring and oversight support as part of the state's response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The information collected by the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division surveyors is being used by the Georgia National Guard and state agencies to assist in planning, strategy and intervention measures. On April 13, the Georgia National Guard launched a new platform to enhance the data collection process for the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division's survey teams. The Healthcare Facility Regulation Division's Long-Term Care Facility COVID-19 Report is generated from this new database platform and is being released as a public service to aid transparency. The Healthcare Facility Regulation Division report replaces the previous report posted by the governor's office which contained similar information.

What is the department doing to address the outbreak in long-term care facilities?

The Department of Public Health and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency are leading the state's response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Department of Public Health is assisting Department of Public Health and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency in a variety of ways to address the outbreak of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities. For more information on the state's response efforts, refer to the executive order issued by Governor Kemp on April 8, as well as other information released by the governor's office.

Is the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division continuing to conduct surveys or inspections of facilities?

The Healthcare Facility Regulation Division has conducted some onsite surveys, but those surveys are coordinated with the Department of Public Health and the National Guard in order to minimize potential exposure of patients and residents to the virus and to conserve the supply of Personal Protective Equipment for health care workers and first responders. The Healthcare Facility Regulation Division created a desk review tool based on a COVID-19 survey process developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and has used the tool to review critical infection control protocols with health care facilities throughout the state. The Healthcare Facility Regulation Division continues to conduct complaint investigations related to infection control issues or immediate jeopardy situations but has suspended routine survey activity in accordance with direction issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.