Washington plans COVID-19 isolation sites for infected patients of long-term care centers
The state is working to set up COVID-19 specific sites in at least three counties, including Pierce, to offer more space for isolation for patients who may not be able to isolate well in their existing long-term care facilities.
Chris Wright, public information officer with the Department of Social and Health Services, shared early details in response to questions from The News Tribune about the sites late Tuesday.
According to Wright, the Pierce County site “will be a wing of an existing Pierce County nursing home that will be cordoned off from the rest of facility only for COVID-19 patients.”
The sites will provide an alternative to hospital recovery or a direct return to a care facility in cases where they may not be able to safely isolate the patient from other residents.
Wright added, “There will be dedicated entrance, dedicated staff and the ability to separate the ventilation from the rest of the system.”
Additionally, “There will be two other facilities, one in King and another in Whatcom. King County may start accepting residents as early as next week.”
The time line for the Pierce County site to launch is not yet clear.
The sites will be officially announced after the contracts are signed, possibly as soon as Wednesday. Last week, Shuksan Healthcare Center in Bellingham was identified as one of the sites in a separate announcement by its owner.
“There will be a total of 135-150 beds for COVID-positive patients between the three facilities,” Wright told The News Tribune. “Patients could be transferred there from hospitals, other long-term care facilities or the non-COVID section of the facility.”
Depending on the need, he noted, the project could expand.
“In addition to these three, we are also talking to other facilities throughout the state and may eventually expand this to a half dozen more,” Wright said.
He noted that to date, “there have been reported positive cases at 233 long-term care facilities in Washington state.”
Earlier this week, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department added to its publicly listed data a list of affected Pierce County care facilities with outbreaks involving staff and patients.
Pierce County has seen its COVID-19 cases tied to long-term care facilities grow from 50 to more than 200 just in the month of April.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 12:36 PM.
