MOUNT VERNON – Five Knox County residents have died from COVID-19 complications since July 29. According to Knox Public Health, all five were patients at Country Court Skilled Nursing Center in Mount Vernon.
KPH Communications Coordinator Alayna Mowry told Knox Pages Thursday that four of the patients were isolated at Country Court at the time of their death. One patient was hospitalized at an out-of-county hospital.
KPH would not disclose the identities of the deceased individuals. Country Court Facility Administrator Will Levering could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Two residents – a 92-year-old female and a 73-year-old male – died July 29. A 93-year-old female died July 31. And two females, ages 78 and 90, passed away from coronavirus complications on Monday.
Up until late July, Knox County had seen just two COVID-19 deaths. David H. Waddell, a 90-year-old from Mount Vernon, passed away from COVID-19 in Florida on April 1. Edward “Joe” Filipowicz, a 74-year-old from Howard, died July 18 at a hospital in Westerville.
As of Wednesday, 3,596 Ohioans and over 156,311 Americans had died of the novel coronavirus, according to information from the Ohio Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Among Knox County’s neighbors, Licking County has seen the highest death toll, with 47 residents having passed away from COVID-19. Thirty-five of the county’s fatalities have stemmed from long-term care facilities, including an outbreak at a Newark nursing home that has led to 19 deaths and over 100 infections.
Delaware County has recorded 18 coronavirus deaths, Richland County has registered 11 deaths, and Coshocton and Holmes counties have seen six deaths apiece since the pandemic began. Ashland County has recorded three COVID-19 fatalities and Morrow County has registered two.
Ohio has seen 2,060 COVID-19 deaths at long-term care facilities since April 15, when the ODH began tracking such data. That comprises roughly 57 percent of the state’s coronavirus deaths, and does not include nursing home residents or staff members who may have passed away from COVID-19 before mid-April.
Senior citizens have been hit hardest by COVID-19, both in Ohio and nationally. Those 70 or older have made up for 77 percent of Ohio’s COVID-19 deaths as of Wednesday. Those 65 or older have made up for 80 percent of coronavirus deaths across the U.S.
The outbreak at Country Court Skilled Nursing Center, located 1076 Coshocton Ave. in Mount Vernon, was Knox County’s first at a long-term care facility. Knox Public Health first reported the outbreak July 21, when results came back that 10 patients and three staff members had tested positive.
The health department reported July 28 that the outbreak had expanded, as 27 patients and eight staff members had tested positive. Four residents were hospitalized at the time.
The ODH reported Wednesday that 65 individuals at Country Court – 50 residents and 15 staff members – have tested positive for COVID-19. Thirty-four of those cases (28 residents and six staff members) are listed as current.
KPH lists 26 individuals as being “isolated at Country Court.” It’s unclear how many individuals from the facility are currently hospitalized.
Staff members who have tested positive (or have shown symptoms) have been instructed to self-isolate at home. KPH has provided testing kits to the remaining Country Court staff members, who have tested symptomatic residents on-site. Nurses have coordinated contact tracing efforts alongside KPH since the outbreak began.
Levering said in late July that his facility is able to treat up to 92 patients at once, although he did not know how many it held at the time of the outbreak. He felt that his facility “has the capacity to treat patients” who have tested positive for COVID-19 under ODH guidelines.
“We are taking all of the precautions that the Ohio Department of Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended for the protection of the patients and the staff members, and all of the necessary and appropriate care services are being given,” Levering said July 22.
Knox County Health Commissioner Julie Miller said July 23 that she had worked with Country Court to develop a comprehensive COVID-19 prevention plan at the start of the pandemic, just like she had with the rest of the county’s long-term care facilities. Country Court’s plan was also approved by the Ohio Department of Health.
“I can tell you that the facility had a plan, a really good plan, in place…” Miller said. “Bad things can happen, whether your plans are the best ever or not.”
Miller said the virus likely entered the facility through an asymptomatic staff member. Residents are typically not the ones bringing viruses into long-term care facilities, she explained, because their exposure to others on a daily basis is more limited.
“That’s why the governor had ordered the National Guard to go out to all nursing facilities in the state and test employees, because the most likely people to bring an infectious disease into a long-term care facility are the employees that work there,” Miller said. “They don’t mean to, they don’t know. One of them probably had COVID and was asymptomatic and went to work.”
Even those who wear masks and maintain social distancing in public are at-risk of becoming infected, Miller noted. And if a nursing home employee unknowingly got infected, went to work and subconsciously let their guard down – even for a moment – that could have been all it took to spread the virus to a patient or co-worker.
“We’re human…” Miller said. “And again, if they’re asymptomatic, meaning they’re not showing any symptoms, it would have been very easy to pass that on.”
Miller said KPH has been working alongside Country Court since the outbreak began, and expressed support for the facility’s efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“I can tell you that they are handling the situation as best they can…” Miller said. “They have isolated the patients into a specific area, which they should. It’s assigned. They have now the needed appropriate PPE, or personal protective equipment, for their staff.
“We’re dealing and talking to them on a daily basis and trying to offer them as much support as we can, including additional testing of residents if needed.”
Two other Mount Vernon long-term facilities have reported positive cases in the past week.
Ohio Eastern Star Home reported two positive cases among staff members, although CEO Michele Engelbach told Knox Pages last Thursday that the individuals had already completed their 14-day quarantine and were scheduled to return to work soon.
The two staff members were roommates, Engelbach said, and were quarantined immediately after displaying symptoms – well before test results came back on July 26. The facility conducted contact tracing and isolated those who had come in close contact with the individuals. No other patients or staff members at the facility have tested positive since.
Country Club Rehabilitation Campus has also reported two positive cases among staff members. The facility did not return requests for comment last week. As of Wednesday, the ODH no longer listed its cases as current.
KPH spokeswoman Pam Palm said the infected individuals were not Knox County residents, and were therefore not counted among the county’s cases.
Knox County has seen 191 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Nearly 80 percent (152) have come since July 1. Nine Knox County residents are currently hospitalized from the coronavirus, KPH said Wednesday.
