A number of COVID-19 tests performed at Crystal Health & Rehab Center in early May have been deemed inconclusive, nursing home officials have been told. Another round of testing is currently underway.
Emerald Healthcare, which runs the long-term care facility, informed the Weekly on Monday morning that they accepted the assistance of the state health department, National Guard and Veterans Affairs to conduct a round of testing on every resident and employee.
Around 150 tests were performed on May 2 on residents and staff at the nursing home. They were sent to a commercial lab.
To date, 25 tests performed at the facility were deemed negative. Eleven residents and five employees have tested positive as of the health department’s latest report on May 12.
With tests coming back inconclusive, the strike team will be conducting another round of testing on those residents immediately.
“The facility has communicated all of this information to the families of our residents and continue to stay in contact with the family members and loved ones,” said Ira Chafetz, of Emerald Health. “Aside from the families ability to call the facility whenever they choose, the facility has designated staff to conduct two to three general update phone calls a week to every single family member.”
For family members like Jennifer Baker, May 10 marked day nine with no information given regarding test results of loved ones. Baker and a number of mothers, daughters and sons stood in front of the entryway to the nursing home on a rainy Sunday holding signs and seeking information.
Baker’s daughter, Brittany, resides at the facility. She says obtaining information over the past few weeks has yielded little to no results. She said she’s reached out to the executive director of the facility, Ruth Robinson, some 15 times since mid-March.
“They should be testing a second time already, and they don’t have the first results yet, and it’s terrifying for all of us,” Baker said.
Baker said she did have a productive conversation with the new director of nursing, who “seemed very transparent and forthcoming.”
Doug Tolbert’s father has been at the facility for four years. The only information Tolbert’s received so far is that a test came back inconclusive. He, too, has had issues reaching nursing home staff.
“If you get somebody on the phone, the calls drop,” he said.
Tolbert said his wife did speak with his father recently.
“He sounds good and seems to be as good as normal,” he said. “The thing that worries us both is he’s very ambulatory … he wanders the facility. What are they doing to prevent that?”
Pilar Duenas was informed by staff late last week that her 87-year-old mother tested positive for COVID-19. She said she tried to contact the facility several times once she heard that an employee at the facility tested positive. Duenas learned of her mother’s test result Saturday morning.
“She’s going to kick this,” Duenas said. “She’s spent a whole week with pneumonia and COVID-19.”
The nursing home said it has designated a separate unit in the facility as a COVID unit where the positive residents continue to stay isolated and the staff on that unit only work that unit. That unit is completely blocked off and sealed from the rest of the facility, Chafetz said.
Chafetz said to the Weekly that residents at the facility are constantly being monitored for signs and symptoms, as well as assuring their psychological well being and safety is being met at the highest level. Communal dining, communal activities and communal therapy have all been suspended since the national outbreak began, and “we continue to ensure those services are provided on an individual basis.”
“Over the last few months, we have prepared and developed in depth policies and procedures to ensure the safety and well being of our residents and staff,” Chafetz said. “We have followed the guidelines of CDC and CMS every step of the way and we’re in constant communication with AHCA and DOH. We were screening and checking every person who walked into the facility 24 hours a day for temperatures, signs and symptoms etc and we continue to do so.
“We know this is a scary time and a very difficult time for our residents, their loved ones, and the community,” Chafetz continued. “This is also an extremely difficult time for our employees who put their health at risk on a daily basis to care for their patients properly. We cannot thank them enough and they are the true hero’s of Crystal Health and Rehab and the Keys community.”
Bob Eadie, health officer for Monroe County, told officials during a Monday morning conference call that the number of positive cases inside the facility could increase. As for ongoing communication issues at the facility, he said the health department is recommending nursing staff “be transparent as they can be.”
U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell said she’s asked the health department to ensure they’re doing contact tracing to prevent further spread and for regular testing of frontline workers at senior living facilities like Crystal Health & Rehab Center.
“My heart is with those who tested positive for COVID-19 at this Keys senior living facility and their families. I have been in contact with families who have relatives at this facility, and they are unacceptably being left in the dark. Senior living facilities have a responsibility to inform residents and their families of COVID-19 cases,” Mucarsel-Powell said.
— This story will be updated with the latest developments.
