By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
Nine residents and five employees of a long-term care facility in Lincoln City have tested positive for COVID-19, Lincoln County Public Health announced Tuesday.
The announcement came one day after county commissioners voted to apply to enter Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan, and after a warning by the county’s health director that regular, mass testing in five nursing homes could lead to a big increase in COVID-19 cases that could affect reopening plans for businesses.
Health officials said Tuesday that 40 residents and employees of Hillside Place in Lincoln City were tested Friday by a private laboratory after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19. Results Tuesday were positive for nine residents and five staff.
Health Department Director Rebecca Austen told an advisory group later Tuesday that the infected staff member did not have a connection to a known case.
The Oregon Health Authority reported 342 new cases for Monday, but none in Lincoln County. County health officials said the 14 new cases would show up in the state’s report Wednesday, bringing the county’s total to 409.
Hillside Place, 1400 S.E. 19th St., is licensed for 37 beds, but currently has 25 residents. According to state records, it was acquired in June by Caring Places Northwest, a chain of long-term care facilities based in Forest Grove.
It is the second large outbreak in a nursing home in Lincoln County. Avemere Rehabilitation in Newport was the first, with 25 residents and 18 of its staff testing positive for COVID-19 in July. Seven Avamere residents with positive tests and all with underlying conditions died last month.
In a news release announcing the outbreak, Lincoln County Public Health said it has been working closely with Hillside Place since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March.
Austen said that state and county health officials visited Hillside on Friday and found no concerns with its infection prevention protocols.
“We know that the new coronavirus is widespread in our county,” Austen said in a news release Tuesday. “We are currently investigating the contacts of all staff and residents to determine who may need to isolate to prevent further spread in Lincoln County.”
Hillside Place administrator Lisa Junod said the facility had earlier implemented infection control protocols, including daily screening and monitoring of residents and staff. But calls to a company spokesman to see if or how infected residents were being isolated were not returned Tuesday.
Austen noted that even when doing everything correct, it is not possible to prevent all infections. She emphasized that systems set up to catch the virus early worked and that the county is confident that Hillside is able to contain the spread.
On Monday, county commissioners voted 2-1 to apply to the state to go into Phase 2 of Oregon’s three-stage reopening plan on Aug. 24. During that discussion, Austen told commissioners that she was worried about outbreaks in nursing homes because staff members can carry COVID-19 into facilities and then back into the community.
