Results from last week’s testing in the Care Center resulted in no new resident and one employee testing positive (contract therapist). No positive results were received in the past week for Chateau. Total positive cases to date for the Care Center is 40 residents and 36 staff members while at Chateau 51 residents and 31 staff members.
Active outbreaks are at 107 (down from 121 last week) still active in the community with 20 of those being in health facilities/entities. Positives for through yesterday for January are 665. The positivity rate for Pueblo county has been on a slow decline since the middle of December. Parkview Hospital decreased hospitalizations related to COVID with 35 cases as of yesterday while St Mary Corwin also has 1 COVID case in their care. Yesterday Parkview reported occupancy at 190 while St Mary Corwin is reporting 15 for occupancy. This leaves 80 available beds between the hospitals. Finally, community vaccination continues with groups 1a and 1b of the state’s rollout plan receiving the vaccination. This equates to 10,486 first doses and 1,377 second doses having been administered through yesterday’s report.
On Monday, the second vaccine clinic was held at the care center. To date, 55 of 65 staff members have received either the first or both shots. Two staff were unable to receive the 1st shot due to current medical restrictions but will be eligible for the next clinic. The remaining staff who have elected to not receive the vaccine will be taken off the schedule in the next few weeks until the national emergency is declared to be over. All eligible residents except for one who elected to not receive the vaccine received either their 1 st or 2 nd shot as appropriate. No residents had any adverse effects other than minor pain at the injection site. One staff member did have a reaction causing some temporary numbness and increased temperature. Chateau is conducting the first clinic today with all residents wanting the vaccine able to receive the injection and approximately half the staff are scheduled.
We continue to have success with reduce positive results from the testing but will need to have all negatives, staff and residents for a minimum of 15 days before the outbreak is declared resolved. The county positive rate has dropped below 5% so combined with fewer community infections and the receipt of the vaccine, we are positioned well to being able to increase resident opportunities to move about the facilities, enjoy communal dining and activities while maintaining social distancing and eventually returning to outdoor visits. We purchased tents propane heaters during the fall to facilitate the comfort of the visits this time of year.
Please contact the facilities with your questions and I appreciate your patience with our return calls to address your concerns or questions.
Sincerely,
Keith Jackson
Executive Director
