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STEUBENVILLE -- Six cases of COVID-19 have been reported at the Laurels, five of them residents.
That puts the total confirmed cases in Jefferson County at 43, with one death. The good news: 21 of those who tested positive have since recovered.
Since mid-April, information on nursing home coronavirus cases has been reported on Ohio's coronavirus.ohio.gov dashboard and the state now requires family members to be notified within 24 hours of diagnosis.
Hayley Simpson, regional director of operations for Laurel Health Care Co., said families of the five residents have been notified, adding that, "to protect privacy, no additional information about the confirmed cases will be shared."
"The Laurels has been implementing and acting on guidance from external agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services since Feb. 28," Simpson said in a brief statement released Thursday afternoon. "We have restricted visitors from entering our facility since the national advisement on March 11, ceased group activities within the building and have continually monitored residents and screened staff members and essential external personnel for symptoms daily."
Residents who test positive for the virus receive "supportive treatment" in an isolated wing of the facility or are transported to the hospital as directed by the attending physician or health department, Simpson said.
Employees who test positive receive instructions from their personal physician or the health department, consistent with CDC guidelines, Simpson said.
"Our leadership team is in regular contact with Jefferson County Health Department and we are tremendously grateful to JCHD for its continued support and guidance," Simpson said. "The well-being of residents, employees, families and our surrounding community is always our top priority. We greatly appreciate Steubenville's outpouring of well wishes and everyone's cooperation and understanding during this unprecedented time."
Jefferson County Health Commissioner Nicole Balakos said the new reporting requirement was intended to make sure families are aware of what is happening with their loved ones during the coronavirus lockdown.
"People worry and, for the most part, as long as we assure that the families are notified and the (local health department) is providing support, then we know the care is happening," Balakos said. "In the beginning of this crisis, families didn't know about cases. This system of reporting was put in place to assure families were aware."
She declined to say if the Laurels' staff member who tested positive for the coronavirus is a Jefferson County resident, saying cases "are reported by facility, not where they live."
She said nursing facilities "are doing their best to care for people who are missing their families during these times."
"Those caregivers and their administrators are working hard to keep the patients and residents safe and healthy as the details on the best practices evolve," she said. "We have been working collaboratively and are grateful to our health care partners for how engaged they are with the health care community of care facilities and home health agencies. Our frequent team calls offer opportunities for idea exchanges and question and answers with the COVID-19 team. We hope to continue to be able to provide this level of service as a team to every health care facility as the disease scenario continues."