Health
By Staff | 
Posted: Fri 5:51 PM, Apr 10, 2020
 | 
Updated: Sat 1:51 PM, Apr 11, 2020
Saturday, April 11, 2020
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) — We’re now learning 70 residents and seven employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at an Augusta nursing home.
That’s three additional residents who tested positive for the coronavirus in addition to Friday’s reported 67 cases.
Officials at the nursing home and its parent company, SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services in Atlanta say the three additional cases are not new cases, but that there were originally three patients who first tested positive before the recently reported 67 cases.
We have asked when those first three residents tested positive. We are waiting for a response.
Friday, April 10, 2020
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) — Sixty-seven residents and seven employees at an Augusta nursing home have tested positive for coronavirus.
No deaths have been reported.
Officials said the affected nursing home is Windermere Health and Rehabilitation Center, 3618 J Dewey Gray Circle, near Doctors Hospital.
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Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. said he was informed of the development today by EMA Chief Christopher James.
“This is certainly a time to pull together, not be pulled apart,” Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr. said. “The healthcare community is going to do everything they can in order to respond and make sure their loved ones are in the best care and condition possible.”
Davis said Augusta EMA is working with both Windermere and state health officials to respond and help with safety measures. EMA officials will be there to offer any equipment or supplies that are needed as well, Davis said.
Clifton Binnon says his mother has been living at Windermere since March, and he has been calling the facility since he heard the news.
“That’s like everybody’s families and y’all ain’t telling nobody nothing,” Binnon said. “Yes, I’m scared, because that’s my mother.”
SavaSeniorCare owns Windermere, along with Azalea Health and Rehabilitation. James Randall is an employee at Azalea currently, and he used to work at the Windermere location.
Randall says he’s taking legal action against his employer after he says they encouraged him to come into work despite being immunocompromised.
“Work has tried to work around it,” Randall said. “They told me they weren’t going to pay me, so if I want money I need to come in. I said it’s not about the money, it’s about my health.”
Seventeen people at the nursing home tested negative for the disease that has been especially deadly in the CSRA for elderly patients, particularly those with underlying health problems.
Officials at the nursing home and its parent company, SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services in Atlanta released this statement:
“We are doing everything we can to protect our residents and staff. This includes providing appropriate PPE, taking heightened precautions and adhering to protocols outlined by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). We are also working closely with our local health department to prevent exposure and to protect all our residents and staff at the Center. Before every shift, we assess the health of our staff and screen all staff members for respiratory illness, which includes a temperature check. We are also restricting visitation at this time based on guidance from the CDC and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
We know that this is an unsettling and scary time for our residents and their family members. We understand and greatly appreciate family members’ concern for their loved ones and are doing all we can to keep our residents safe and protected. We are in the process of contacting the resident representative of every resident in our Center to keep them informed of their loved one’s condition as it evolves. We will continue to update family members in the coming days as new information becomes available or as circumstances change. We are working closely with the health authorities to follow their guidance and have been 100% transparent with all information released to the authorities, family members and the wider public, while maintaining the dignity and privacy of each of our residents.
We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updated information and education to the Center, staff, patients, residents and families, as updates become available. We appreciate the continued support of the long-term care community, and the agencies and associations that support us in our efforts.”
Check back here and on News 12 NBC 26 for more on this developing story.
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Health "Yes, I"m scared": 70 residents, 7 employees at local nursing home test positive for coronavirus - WRDW-TV
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