Boise nursing home has COVID-19 death, many cases. In Idaho assisted living, 12 have died
A resident of a Boise nursing home has died after being infected with the coronavirus, and several other residents and staff members are also infected.
Central District Health spokeswoman Christine Myron said in a news release that the woman who died was in her 60s and had unspecified underlying health conditions. She was a resident at Avamere Transitional Care and Rehabilitation, 1001 S. Hilton St., a nursing home for senior citizens.
In the release, Myron said that 14 other residents and staff have confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Avamere isn’t the only nonhospital health care facility in Idaho with reported cases of COVID-19. As of Monday, residents and staff at 14 long-term care facilities in the state had tested positive in the past month, according to Idaho Department of Health and Welfare spokeswoman Niki Forbing-Orr.
That included six nursing homes, six assisted-living facilities and two homes for people with intellectual disabilities.
A total of 58 cases and 12 deaths were associated with those facilities, Forbing-Orr told the Statesman. It is unclear whether Avamere or the death announced Tuesday were included in those numbers. The state had a total of 39 deaths as of Tuesday night.
“Avamere Transitional Care and Rehab of Boise is following infection control guidelines and recommendations from the CDC and CMS,” Avamere said Saturday in an email to the Statesman, responding to an inquiry about cases at the facility. “We are also working with the Department of Health and Welfare to control the spread of this virus. We are committed to protecting the health and safety of our staff and residents.”
On its website, Avamere says it offers both long-term and short-term care.
“Many patient stays are less than three months and most frequently consist of seniors who come directly from the hospital to recover from surgery or severe illness,” the website reads.
The facility is licensed for up to 111 patients, but state inspection records show Avamere had 63 patients in May 2019 and 68 patients in May 2018.
The facility has been cited for multiple deficiencies during its health and safety inspections, according to the federal clearinghouse for nursing home quality information, medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare. One of the deficiencies, in a November 2018 inspection, was for failing to “provide and implement an infection prevention and control program.” That was corrected in January 2019, according to the website.
Nearly 1,500 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 statewide.
“Each individual that our community loses to this virus is a reminder of how serious this illness can be, and the importance of everyone, especially those in good health, doing all that they can to protect some of our most vulnerable residents,” said Russ Duke, district director for Central District Health, in the news release.
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 2:54 PM.
