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Two Mountain View nursing homes have experienced large outbreaks as COVID has surged in the state.
State and county public health officials are reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at several local nursing homes over the last month, including two in Mountain View, as infection rates reach record-breaking levels across California.
Cases in long-term care facilities, home to some of the most vulnerable residents at highest risk of serious illness and death, have shot up 66.3% since the beginning of November, reaching 2,771 cases as of Dec. 16. The largest share of those cases have been in skilled nursing facilities.
The latest county data shows two facilities in Mountain View have had some of the largest outbreaks over the last month. The Grant Cuesta Sub-Acute and Rehabilitation Center reported that 41 of its residents have tested positive over the last 28 days, followed by the Mountain View Healthcare Center at 38. Among nursing home staff, 19 tested positive at Grant Cuesta and 33 tested positive at the Mountain View Healthcare Center.
Almost all of the two facilities’ cases have happened recently. The Mountain View Healthcare Center has had 50 residents and 59 workers test positive since the pandemic began, with 27 cases still active as of Dec. 19, according to the California Department of Public Health. Grant Cuesta reported a total of 44 residents and 35 staff tested positive.
Fewer than 11 residents have died from the virus at either facility, which is below the state’s requirement to report the specific number of deaths.
COVID-19 disproportionately impacts the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions, making nursing homes ground zero for high-risk infections. Residents of long-term care facilities make up just 5% of the cases in Santa Clara County, but account for 45% of the deaths. The death rate among residents living in these facilities is close to 9.5%.
Though nursing homes are mostly isolated from the outside world and are a safe place to shelter from the virus, infections can still proliferate if a health care worker contracts the virus and unknowingly spreads it in a facility. When the COVID-19 case rate skyrockets in the community at-large, the odds are higher it will make it inside these skilled nursing homes through an employee.
The Mountain View Healthcare Center did not respond to multiple requests for comment, while one employee told this newspaper that they were unable to comment on COVID-19 infections due to directions by the county. County staff said there are no policies in place that prevent nursing homes from speaking to the media about outbreaks.
In a statement on its website, the center wrote that it is “making every effort” to minimize the exposure of COVID-19 in its facility on Solace Place, south of the El Camino Hospital campus. All visitors, including vendors, have been prohibited from coming to the facility until further notice.
“We are closely monitoring the situation daily and as soon as we feel the safety of our residents will not be compromised with visitors, we will lift the restriction,” according to the statement.
Representatives from Covenant Care, which runs the Grant Cuesta Sub-Acute and Rehabilitation Center, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The only long-term care facilities with bigger outbreaks over the last 28 days are the Amberwood Gardens and the Dycora Transitional Health and Living — both located in San Jose — with 91 cases and 45 cases among residents, respectively.
County health officials said they are supporting the two Mountain View clinics with lab testing, guidance and other assistance, and is taking steps to ensure “proper cohorts and infection control.”
The first batches of the COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Pfizer, arrived in Santa Clara County last week, with strict guidelines for who is eligible for early immunization. Those living and working in skilled nursing facilities are on the short list of people receiving the vaccine, which is meant to curb the often-fatal infections taking place in nursing homes.
