SC nursing home COVID-19 deaths top 100, one-third of entire state’s virus toll
The death toll in South Carolina nursing homes and other care facilities has grown to 107, up from 84 deaths earlier in the week, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported Friday.
The deaths include both residents and staff, said Dr. Linda Bell, S.C. state epidemiologist, who spoke at a press conference with Gov. Henry McMaster.
Also, DHEC reported, the number of residents and staff testing positive in the state’s 194 nursing homes has grown to 1,072 since earlier in the week, when the state health agency reported 851 cases.
Nearly all the care facility deaths concerned residents. Two staff members have died, and 105 facility residents, DHEC reported. Friday was the first day that DHEC reported a breakdown between staff and residents.
Positive COVID-19 cases among residents hit 743, compared with 329 positive cases for staff, DHEC said.
In all as of Friday, 320 South Carolinians have died from COVID-19, and 7,367 have been infected by the disease, which causes in some patients severe respiratory failure while attacking other parts of the body.
On Monday, DHEC will start testing the 40,000 residents and staff in the state’s 194 nursing homes, Bell said.
To begin with, that testing will target 74 of those 194 facilities, she added.
Coronavirus deaths in nursing homes and care facilities have attracted national and statewide attention because the numbers of such deaths linked to those facilities are unduly high.
Care facilities are populated by those who are especially vulnerable to the disease — those over 60, who generally have weakened immune systems and may be in frail health, and those with underlying health conditions such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. Moreover, many also live in close quarters.
COVID-19 is highly contagious, transmitted by the breath or touch, and can attack the lungs, heart, liver, kidneys and other organs. It is believed to be particularly dangerous because those who are infected can spread the disease before they begin to show any symptoms, such as headaches or shortness of breath.
More than 76,000 Americans have died of the disease in the last two months, and more than 1 million have been infected, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The highest number of SC care facility deaths were at Heartland Health and Rehabilitation Center in Hanahan, where 13 residents died, DHEC reported. In all, Heartland had 90 people test positive — 58 residents and 32 staff.
Other nursing homes with high death numbers:
▪ Greer Rehabilitation and Health Center in Greer also had nine deaths out of that facility’s 82 total cases.
▪ Greenville Post Acute in Greenville had 48 cases and nine deaths.
▪ Midlands Health and Rehabilitation Center in Columbia had eight resident deaths and one staff death and a total of 89 COVID-19 cases.
Lexington Medical Center Extended Care has had four resident deaths, out of its 28 cases, according to DHEC.
On March 13, Gov. Henry McMaster stopped visitation to long-term care facilities to help protect the vulnerable population who tend to live in these types of facilities.
“DHEC prioritizes the identification of COVID-19 infections in congregate settings like nursing homes, assisted living facilities and extended care facilities because the spread of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19 is common in these types of facilities, and the residents who live there are at high risk for developing complications or death from COVID-19 infection,” the agency said.
Here are some of the 83 state care facilities DHEC has reported, along with their COVID-19 cases and deaths:
▪ Carlyle Senior Care of Florence: 83 cases, four resident deaths.
▪ Carlyle Senior Care of Kingstree: 56 cases, five deaths.
▪ Lake Marion Nursing Facility in Summerton: 32 cases, seven resident deaths and one staff death.
▪ Pruitt Health in Blythewood: 54 cases, five resident deaths.
▪ Windsor Manor Nursing Home in Manning: 54 cases, seven resident deaths.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 5:05 PM.