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AHC patient tests positive for COVID-19
TRULY MARTIN
On Monday, AHC Dyersburg confirmed their facility is currently caring for an individual who tested positive for COVID-19.
AHC Administrator Jill Burkett said the nursing home is working to ensure infection control measures, to both protect their own health and to limit incidental spread of the virus.
"This is a recent admission," she said. "All new admissions are screened upon entry and held in an isolation room until the results of a COVID-19 test, typically within 24 hours."
The nursing home is the first senior-care facility within Dyer County reported to have a positive COVID-19 test. More than 3,000 individuals have been confirmed positive for the virus in Tennessee. As of Monday morning, 44 people in the state have died as a result of the infection.
The name and age of the confirmed patient are protected under federal patient privacy rules and cannot be disclosed. Families and staff have been made aware of the positive result.
"We are committed to protecting the privacy of our patients and will not provide specific details regarding any individual patient in our care," said Burkett. "Having a positive case does not come as a surprise given the pandemic’s impact."
The nursing homes across the state have protocols in place to defer infections. According to the CDC, the senior population and people with pre-existing medical conditions have the highest risk of being affected by COVID-19.
"Our highest priority is the care and safety of our residents and staff," said Burkett. "In an effort to keep COVID-19 out of our communities, we have very aggressive protocols for early detection to catch and mitigate spread of the virus."
The nursing home's protocols reflect the latest guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for screening, testing, isolation and infection control. According to the nursing home, all employees and residents of AHC Dyersburg are screened for fever and other symptoms of respiratory disease before beginning each employee’s shift. Other necessary visitors, such as transport or delivery personnel, are screened before entering.
"We believe our aggressive protocols and other proactive measures have been effective in identifying, isolating and greatly reducing exposure to others," said Burkett. "Additional measures we’ve taken include ensuring an adequate supply of personal protective equipment and reinforcing the importance of remaining at home if staff are experiencing symptoms of an illness."
She said the nursing home values the trust residents and families place within the facility.
"We will continue to take every possible step to ensure residents' health and safety," continued Burkett.
As of March 30, more than 400 of 15,000 U.S. nursing homes have had an outbreak of coronavirus.