Long-term care residents, employees to be tested weekly for covid-19, Gov. Wolf says

All nursing home patients and employees will be tested for the coronavirus, Pennsylvania officials said Tuesday, and the facilities will be required to publicly report the number of covid-19 deaths, cases and tests.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said how often the nursing homes test their patients and employees will depend on how they’re affected by the virus. Facilities in the throes of an outbreak, for instance, will test more frequently than a facility that does not have any cases.

Levine said the ramped-up testing didn’t come sooner because the state simply did not have the resources.

“Before the last week or so … we have not had the testing capacity in Pennsylvania to perform this,” she said. “Until the last approximately 2½ weeks, it’s been extremely challenging to get the supplies and the swabs needed to be able to perform this significant amount of testing.”

This type of population-based surveillance testing at care homes will help officials pinpoint those who are asymptomatic and keep them from spreading the virus.

West Virginia began testing all nursing home residents and staff last month, and Gov. Jim Justice noted in a statement that his state was the first to implement such universal testing.

In a statement, Justice noted that the data likely would not be “as good as we want it to be,” but he noted “it will lead us to save a whole lot more lives.”

Levine said that beginning Sunday, long-term care facilities will have to begin reporting the number of tests, cases and deaths using the same platform as hospitals.

The data, she said, will be made public.

Other new guidance for those facilities includes testing a resident who is returning from the hospital and guidelines for how and when to retest residents.

The Department of Health, using supplies from the federal government, will get testing swabs to facilities that don’t have their own adequate supply. For the care homes that don’t have the manpower to perform the testing, the National Guard will help with a mobile testing unit.

Randy Padfield, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said there are about 150 guardsmen statewide with medical training who are already working with facilities. Other guardsmen also have been deployed to facilities to help with cleaning and other patient care.

“The key is to try to stabilize these facilities when and where possible to be able to provide them the support that they need to be able to function and also limit the spread of covid-19,” Padfield said.

Levine said the ongoing testing will last as long as it’s needed.

Long-term care facilities statewide reported hundreds of new cases Tuesday. While the number of affected facilities remained at 540, they reported nearly 330 new cases for a total of 12,130. Just over 2,600 residents in those facilities have died, and 1,724 employees have contracted the virus.

State data shows that 97 care home residents in Allegheny County have died from the virus, which has affected 36 facilities countywide. About 363 residents have tested positive for covid-19 along with 104 employees.

In Westmoreland, there have been 134 cases among residents in nine care homes, and 34 employees have contracted the virus. Twenty-seven residents have died.

Officials with Allegheny County’s Kane Community Living Center and Brighton Rehab in Beaver could not be reached for comment.

John Dickson, president of Redstone Presbyterian SeniorCare, which has facilities across the region, said he has yet to see the guidance from the state but noted that more information is always helpful.

“Testing is a moment in time, and I think it will acknowledge if there are folks asymptomatic and working and maybe catch something as well,” he said. “It’s just a moment in time. Like anything else, testing is helpful. It is information and knowledge, and we respond accordingly.”

Adam Marles, president and CEO of LeadingAge PA, a trade group representing more than 360 care facilities, applauded the state’s testing plan.

“This new initiative is welcome,” he said, “and supports the primary concern of our members: the safety of staff and residents.”