The coronavirus outbreak has become a crisis on a campus where many residents have pre-existing medical conditions and are considered at high risk if they contract the virus.
at a similar nonprofit group home. In Texas, four hours south of Denton, two residents at another state-run living center tested positive earlier last week.
Of the 50 residents who have contracted the virus, nine have been hospitalized and none have died, according to the county health department. Officials announced 14 new cases, all employees, over the weekend. “The damage was done,” Harrington said. “The gap between overnight and the afternoon — I don’t think they should have done that. They should have acted sooner.”for its residents last week, has opened up the facility and Texas health officials to questions about whether they could have done more to protect the vulnerable population.
With 443 residents, the Denton facility is the largest of Texas’ 13 state-run centers for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Oftentimes, residents are civilly committed by family members or guardians who believe their loved one cannot be adequately cared for in another setting. The state facility provides 24-hour residential care, medical services and vocational training.
The investigators found that for individuals with chronic or at-risk conditions, primary care providers were in some cases failing to conduct medical assessments consistent with best practices and had not appropriately identified necessary treatments and interventions. Nursing assessments at the first sign of illness were identified as an area “on which the Center needs to focus.
The next day, city officials sent a letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, asking the state to set up a temporary hospital on the grounds of the Denton State Supported Living Center. “It’s really kind of just plain discrimination to say we’re just going to keep them on the campus because we don’t want them taking up our emergency room beds,” said Beth Mitchell, supervising attorney at Disability Rights Texas, the state’s federally designated legal protection and advocacy agency. She said facility residents deserve the same medical treatment that any other individual would receive.
“There is another rumor going around campus and it is just making a lot of people more stressed and scared,” Maria Palenzuela, the facility’s infection preventionist, wrote to staff, emphasizing the point in bold. “Currently, we do not have any resident or staff confirmed with Covid-19.” “I do care for them. I don’t want to spread it,” he said. “I don’t know whether I’m already a carrier.”
As for staff fearful of working with patients with COVID-19, Mann said administrators are making “reasonable accommodations” — especially for those with health conditions who are at high risk, including assigning them to units without residents who have tested positive. But about three years ago, Kirby found herself unable to care for Petre, who had started to hurt himself and needed someone at his side at all times. She said she exhausted every option to keep him home before deciding he should move into the Denton center. Today, Kirby considers the staff there to be family and said she is deeply supportive of the centers and their mission.
Kirby said communication has improved in recent days. She is unsure why but said other families, like her, have voiced frustrations. She was recently told employees who have been exposed to sick residents are being tested, information she has sought for weeks.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Amazon tells workers to wear masks, though there's 'limited' supply - Business InsiderAmazon employs some 400,000 warehouse workers across 175-plus facilities. Workers at more than 50 warehouses have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Read more »
Greece quarantines second camp after coronavirus case confirmedGreece has quarantined a second migrant facility this week after a 53-year-old man tested positive for coronavirus, the migration ministry said on Sunday.
Read more »
Cardi B Thinks This 'Tiger King' Player Gave a Tiger CoronavirusCardi reposted a story on a tiger at Bronx Zoo testing positive for coronavirus, and shared her own theory: Baskin done it.
Read more »
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson taken to hospital with persistent coronavirus symptomsU.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was taken to the hospital for tests on Sunday, more than a week after he tested positive for coronavirus.
Read more »
Boris Johnson Admitted to Hospital Due to Coronavirus SymptomsThe British prime minister was admitted on Sunday for additional tests, as he was suffering from coronavirus symptoms ten days after testing positive.
Read more »