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COVID-19 in 3 nursing homes, one in my hometown (Arkansas)
Coronavirus cases hit 100 in state, including more than dozen at Little Rock nursing home, agency saysArkansas Democrat-Gazette
by Andy Davis, Nyssa Kruse | March 20, 2020 at 6:38 p.m.
Article doesn't seem paywalled for me, but trying to find the best four paragraphs to snip since it's an evolving story vs a press-time article:
The number of coronavirus cases in Arkansas has reached 100, according to the Arkansas Department of Health's website.
Four staff and nine residents at Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center are among the positive cases, Health Secretary Nate Smith said.
A news release from the department also states one person from Apple Creek Nursing and Rehab in Centerton and one from the Villages of General Baptist West in Pine Bluff have also tested positive.
Smith said 26 of the known positive patients are people over the age of 65, 62 are adults aged 19-64 and eight are children.
Four staff and nine residents at Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center are among the positive cases, Health Secretary Nate Smith said.
A news release from the department also states one person from Apple Creek Nursing and Rehab in Centerton and one from the Villages of General Baptist West in Pine Bluff have also tested positive.
Smith said 26 of the known positive patients are people over the age of 65, 62 are adults aged 19-64 and eight are children.
Snips omitted.
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My grandmother had two stays at Briarwood, once for each hip she broke. Then the final, third stay, when it was too dangerous to have her at home. She fortunately passed away from a heart attack (edit to clarify, it was in her sleep, she didn't know or fear death and it wasn't painful except the end -- there are worse ways to go), and they'd transferred her out to a main hospital because she'd had an exacerbation of her CHF beforehand, shortness of breath and swelling out of her normal character so knew she needed inpatient treatment.
This is a good nursing home, under normal circumstances. So I'm sure they did the best they could to follow what guidelines they were given to keep patients safe.
But while we may only have 3 million people in our state, that's still nearly 500k people over age 65 and most of our ICU capacity in just four counties. There was a plan in 2012 to try to add "e-ICU" hospital beds to our rural hospitals, so that care could be coordinated from those counties/by those specialists, but they're going to be overwhelmed now too.