San Antonio Nursing Home Administrators Designate Two Facilities To Care For Coronavirus-Positive Nursing Home Residents

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

April 10, 2020

SAN ANTONIO (April 10, 2020) — The two largest nursing home operators in San Antonio, Creative Solutions in Healthcare and Keystone Care, LLC, have identified two locations where COVID-19-positive residents from any nursing home in the region could be brought to mitigate the risk of spreading the virus throughout other facilities.

Keystone Care, which owns nine facilities in Bexar County, has identified Westover Hills Rehabilitation and Healthcare. Creative Solutions in Healthcare, which owns five facilities in Bexar County and 78 across Texas, volunteered the River City Care Center on Nolan Street. Residents from these facilities have been moved to other facilities in the area, so that the centers are available to serve as a place to care for nursing home residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 but do not need hospital care.

“Our entire team of clinical experts has developed a specialized plan to care for COVID-positive patients and those that may be suspected to be COVID positive,” said Andy Ashton, who oversees operational efforts for Keystone Care in several markets in Texas, including San Antonio. “We selected Westover Hills for this purpose because it is well suited to properly cohort these patients and includes separate entrances, break rooms and staging areas in accordance with the guidance of the CDC. We have also made sure that we have the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) that is necessary to provide this care while keeping our caregivers and patients safe. We are beyond grateful to our team of highly qualified professionals for their hard work and willingness to carry out their plan of care if it becomes necessary.”

“As the Councilperson who represents Westover Hills, I’m doing everything I can to protect the health and safety of residents in both my district and across San Antonio,” said District 6 Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda. “This a smart plan by the nursing home community to take care of our own in Bexar County and the surrounding counties. Hopefully, we don't need it, but it will be there if we do. Preparation is essential now.”

At the River City Care Center, which has been operated by Creative Solutions in Healthcare since January 2019, approximately 50 residents were moved earlier this week to other facilities owned by the company.

"We are working seamlessly with the City of San Antonio and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to transform the River City Care Center into a safe and secure environment for San Antonio's COVID-19 nursing home residents,” said Gary Blake, president and co-founder of Creative Solutions in Healthcare, which manages the facility. "Each of these patients will receive a skilled nursing level of care around the clock, staffed by some of our most experienced team members. I can assure you we are committed to upholding the highest standards and protocols established by the Centers for Disease Control and our state and local authorities for preventing the spread of this disease within our walls and beyond. We are proud to be part of this assertive and proactive effort to curb this pandemic which has impacted our lives in every possible way."

“District 2 now has several vital components to this crisis response – the River City Cohort Care Center, the Pre-Approved Testing Site and the Alternate Care Facility at Freeman Coliseum. I’m proud that our residents are stepping up as a compassionate community to help save lives,” said District 2 Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan. “I also believe in transparency, and I thought it was important that my constituents hear about this directly from the City. If time would have permitted, we would have received more input from a public forum. Fire Chief Hood has assured us that this facility will not threaten the health and safety of our neighbors, and the former residents of River City have all been safely relocated to other facilities. It is important that this shining city on a hill make contributions from all of its four corners.”

No sick residents have been moved to either facility, and there is not a need to move anyone at this time. There are no known localized outbreaks at long-term care facilities other than the Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. At Southeast, which is not owned by Keystone Care or Creative Solutions, infected residents are already isolated from healthy ones. However, with the Emergency Order prohibiting nursing facility staff from working in multiple facilities, this cohort model allows for manageable numbers of dedicated staff to safely and effectively provide the best care possible to residents.

“Once again, our local healthcare community has stepped up to provide a critical service to our most vulnerable seniors,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “I want to commend Keystone Care and Creative Solutions for working collaboratively with our emergency care workers. Judge Wolff and I have strongly recommended that the first patients be transported to Westover Hills and that the facility limit access to residents from Bexar and the surrounding counties.”

“We are hopeful that that the preventative measures undertaken in early March to visit and prepare all area nursing facilities will prove to be effective and render the cohort facilities not necessary,” said San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood. “But if the need arises, these facilities will allow for proper separation of infected residents from the rest of the long-term care population, while greatly reducing the amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) needed in nursing homes by concentrating those recovering in one place.”

FOUR WAYS TO SIGN UP FOR COVID-19 ALERTS

1. Download the Ready South Texas app, available in the iTunes and Google Play stores
2. Text COSAGOV to 55000 to receive SMS text message updates
3. Follow @COSAGOV on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
4. Bookmark www.SanAntonio.gov

Public service announcements on social distancing, prevention and testing are available here.

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.