9 die in covid-19 outbreak at Washington Township nursing home

Nov. 20--Nine residents of Quality Life Services nursing home in Washington Township have died since Nov. 11, and the National Guard has been called in to assist, according to Chief Operating Officer Paul Maguire.

About half of the deaths occurred at the nursing home formerly known as West Haven Manor and the rest occurred after residents had been transferred to an area hospital, Maguire said.

He said three of the deaths occurred on Tuesday, the same day a National Guard team arrived at the facility.

"They gave us nine to 10 (Guard) personnel and added a few more as of yesterday," Maguire said Friday, adding that he expected the National Guard team to be in place through "the better part of next week."

Quality Life Services has reported a continuing increase in covid-19 cases at the nursing home since 30 residents and 10 staff members tested positive in the three days leading up to Nov. 9.

The number of cases involving residents increased to 75 on Wednesday and 84 on Friday. The facility has 116 residents. There were 41 cases involving staff members on Friday, down from 47 on Wednesday.

"Staffing is a challenge whenever there is an outbreak," Maguire said. "It's all hands on deck. We are utilizing several agencies to complement our existing staff, and we do have support from the National Guard for the next week or so."

During the outbreak, he said residents who have tested negative for the virus have been segregated in a "yellow zone" within the facility while those who have tested positive are in a "red zone."

Maguire said residents who have tested positive will not be tested again for 90 days. After 10 to 14 days, those who are asymptomatic will be moved into the yellow zone, he said.

"If you test negative, we'll continue to test you on a weekly basis going forward," he said. "Or, if you show any symptoms during daily assessments, we will test you as well."

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff at 724-836-6622, jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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