Five Care Homes In Woodstock Report Coronavirus Cases, Deaths

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

• BENTON HOUSE OF WOODSTOCK, 3385 TRICKUM ROAD
  • Total residents: 43
  • Residents sick: 10
  • Residents died: 2
  • Staff sick: 9
• OAKS AT TOWNE LAKE, 4580 TOWNE LAKE PARKWAY
  • Total residents: 69
  • Residents sick: 2
  • Residents died: 0
  • Staff sick: 0
• LEGACY RIDGE AT NEESE RD, 756 NEESE ROAD
  • Total residents: 60
  • Residents sick: 1
  • Residents died: 1
  • Staff sick: 0
• WOODSTOCK NURSING & REHAB CTR, 105 ARNOLD MILL ROAD
  • Total residents: 125
  • Residents sick: 1
  • Residents died: 0
  • Staff sick: 0
• INSIGNIA OF TOWNE LAKE, 1835 EAGLE DRIVE
  • Total residents: 26
  • Residents sick: 0
  • Residents died: 0
  • Staff sick: 1

CEO of Oaks Senior Living Alex Salabarria said it is a difficult and stressful process for his organization to fight coronavirus.

"But we realize that our residents are very vulnerable to this virus, and we have to do everything in our power and ability to protect them and our teams," Salabarria said in a letter to families last month. "We still have a long road to travel before this pandemic leaves our state and that road looks very foggy at this point. I know there will be continued challenges arising on a daily basis, but please know that our leadership team and community teams are communicating every single day to improve the protection of our communities."

Sandy Prichar, executive director of Insignia of Towne Lake, said their associate who tested positive had not been in the community 11 days prior to testing, and has not returned at this time.

Legacy Ridge at Neese Road sent a resident to the hospital on an unrelated matter on March 2, Blair Burney, content and PR specialist said.

"While he was offsite and at the hospital, not within the community, he started showing symptoms and going through testing," Burney said. "The resident still financially occupied a room at Legacy Ridge at Neese Road at the time but was not there physically.

"On March 2, Legacy Ridge at Neese Road sent the resident in question to the hospital for conditions unrelated to COVID-19. While at the hospital, he was tested for COVID-19 and tested positive. Legacy Ridge at Neese Road received word from the hospital that he tested positive on March 24. He passed away unfortunately on March 30. His wife, with whom he lived with at the community, was also tested and the outcome was negative. Based on this information, it is very likely the resident contracted the virus at the hospital.

Atlas is combating the virus proactively by implementing onsite COVID-19 testing with a partnership with FDA-approved Assurance Labs at all communities. Testing started early last week. More information about this partnership can be found here.

There are no active cases or any past cases at Legacy Ridge at Neese Road currently."

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.

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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.