Two infected employees at coronavirus hot spot worked at other nursing homes
SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A Southeast Side nursing home that’s battling a coronavirus outbreak shared workers with other local facilities.
Mayor Ron Nirenberg says eight employees at Southeast Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center on East Southcross who tested positive for coronavirus are in self-isolation away from the facility.
“In addition to the concerns about not infecting any of the healthy residents at Southeast, we have great concerns about the potential for infected staff members from Southeast Nursing Center potentially exposing residents in other facilities where they may have also worked,” said Nirenberg.
Fire Chief Charles Hood says of the eight employees who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, two worked in other facilities.
“The staff members who have not yet been tested, we know that they worked in seven facilities in the city,” said Hood. “That number is going to grow as we interview more staff members.
The facilities that had been identified by the city as employing personnel who also worked at Southeast Nursing were Advanced Rehabilitation and Healthcare of Live Oak on Palisades Drive; The Village at Incarnate Word on Broadway near Hildebrand; Buena Vida Nursing and Rehab on Pecan Grove; The Rio at Mission Trails on South New Braunfels; and Floresville Residence and Rehabilitation Center on Sixth Street.
Two San Antonio hospitals also were on the original list, but the city later said no employees from Southeast Nursing had recently worked at those facilities.
“Methodist Specialty and Transplant Center and Baptist Emergency Hospital were included in a list provided to Metro Health by the administration of Southeast,” said Dr. Dawn Emerick, Director of Metro Health. “Subsequent interviews with hospital administration resulted in a determination that no Southeast employees ever worked at Methodist Specialty and Transplant Center.”
She also said that Baptist Emergency Hospital has not employed a Southeast employee since early March.
“Investigations like this create an evolving understanding of the situation,” said Emerick.“In this case, patients and staff at Methodist and Baptist need not be concerned, as the initial information provided by the nursing home has proven to be inaccurate.”
Multi-agency teams from the Emergency Operations Center continue to investigate potential exposures resulting from Southeast staff working in other facilities.
Hood said the city is investigating more than 30 low-rated nursing homes in the area and making sure they’re following proper procedures for infection control. Southeast Nursing and Rehabilitation Center last year received one of five possible stars in a federal government report. San Antonio officials said they have also launched an assessment of environmental and infection control procedures at the three-dozen lowest rated nursing homes in the area.
Of the 60 staff members, eight have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and the others are being tested.
“In case anyone in San Antonio needed a wake-up call about the seriousness of COVID-19 in our community, this is it,” Nirenberg said. “COVID-19 is alarmingly contagious and very insidious.”
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