Coronavirus cases have been declining at long-term care facilities and among the elderly in Bartholomew County in recent weeks, mirroring trends seen across the country that health officials are largely attributing to vaccinations.
At least 508 residents of Bartholomew County’s long-term care facilities have caught COVID-19 and 107 residents have died since the Indiana State Department of Health started reporting deaths and cases by facility in July.
However, the overall trend for long-term care residents has been improving over the past month, with no new cases recorded at long-term care facilities in Bartholomew County since Feb. 5, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Additionally, confirmed cases among the elderly in Bartholomew County have markedly declined in recent weeks, state records show.
In the past month, there have been three confirmed COVID-19 cases among local residents age 80 and up, including just one case recorded since Feb. 19, and six cases among residents age 70 to 79.
By comparison, there were 44 cases among residents age 80 and up from Nov. 19 to Dec. 19, and 82 confirmed cases among residents age 70 to 79.
The drop in confirmed cases has coincided with vaccination efforts targeting those age groups.
At least 64% of Bartholomew County residents age 80 and up were fully vaccinated as of Thursday morning, as well as 57% of local residents age 70 to 79, according to state records.
“The decrease in numbers of cases and hospitalizations in the elderly, as well as nursing home residents has to be due to vaccination rates in that population,” said Dr. Brian Niedbalski, Bartholomew County health officer.
Officials at local long-term care facilities have said the improved figures are cause for optimism, though it’s too early for the community to declare victory and let down its guard.
The mood at Four Seasons, a skilled nursing facility located at 1901 Taylor Road, is “happy and hopeful,” as more and more residents get vaccinated and are able to resume some aspects of normal daily life, including indoor visits, socially distanced communal dining, shopping trips and outings with their families, said Rebecca Stenner, the facility’s executive director.
A total of 45 residents at Four Seasons have tested positive for the coronavirus and 16 have died since the start the pandemic, but no new cases have been reported there since Jan. 7, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
As of Wednesday, Four Seasons had held five on-site COVID-19 vaccination clinics for residents, “some of their family members” and staff, with more than 500 shots administered so far, Stenner said.
Currently, more than 95% of the facility’s residents have been vaccinated, Stenner said.
“Of course we’re very happy that we’ve been able to make significant progress in the fight against the virus, both in the community and at Four Seasons, and that we’re getting back to normal,” Stenner said. “…Going forward, we hope that everyone will continue to wear masks, to keep social distances, and avoid large gatherings in close quarters, so we can sustain these wins.”
Heather Angel, administrator in training at Keepsake Village of Columbus, a nursing home residential facility located at 2564 Foxpointe Drive, said residents and staff are “optimistic.”
On Feb. 26, a local CVS pharmacy held a vaccination clinic at Keepsake Village and residents and staff “celebrated with (a) Donut Central donut truck in our parking lot,” Angel said.
All residents at Keepsake Village have been vaccinated, Angel said.
“Our residents and staff are very eager and excited to welcome our families back into our community,” Angel said. “We are currently doing in person visitation by appointment.”
Over the course of the pandemic Keepsake Village of Columbus has reported 16 cases among residents and five deaths, but hasn’t reported any new cases among residents since Sept. 11, according to state records.
The downward trend in cases among the elderly and long-term care residents in Bartholomew County mirrors similar trends reported across the state and country.
Nursing homes have been a priority since vaccinations began in mid-December, and the federal government said earlier this month that 1.5 million long-term care residents have already received at least an initial dose, The Associated Press reported.
Researchers and industry leaders say they are seeing marked improvements after months in which some nursing homes lost dozens of residents to the disease and had to keep others in semi-isolation for protection, according to wire reports. Some 2,000 nursing homes are now virus-free, or about 13% nationally, according to an industry group, and many are dealing with far fewer cases than before.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, an industry trade organization, said March 2 that there had been an 82% decline in COVID-19 cases at U.S. long-term care facilities since Dec. 20, outpacing the 46% drop in cases among the general population.
There were 9,670 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at U.S. long-term care facilities the week of March 4 — down from 72,586 cases the week of Dec. 17 and the lowest level since data started being tracked last spring, according to the COVID-19 Tracking Project.
Additionally, weekly deaths of long-term care residents dropped to 1,582 the week of March 4, down from 10,775 the week of Jan. 28.
“We still have a long road ahead, but these numbers are incredibly encouraging and a major morale booster for frontline caregivers who have been working tirelessly every day for a year to protect our residents,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, in a statement. “This new data showcases just how important it is for nursing homes residents and staff, as well as the general public, to get the vaccine because it is clearly working.”
Indiana also has reported a drop in COVID-19 cases and deaths at long-term care facilities.
Last month, there were 665 COVID-19 cases and 227 deaths at long-term care facilities in Indiana, down from more than 5,300 cases and 1,447 deaths in December, said Dr. Kristina Box, Indiana state health commissioner, during a news briefing on Wednesday.
More than 138,000 vaccine doses have been administered to long-term care residents in Indiana, said Box, who added that the toll that the pandemic has had on long-term care residents has been “heartbreaking.”
“These vulnerable Hoosiers have borne a huge burden in this pandemic, from the number of cases to the number of deaths to the social isolation that has resulted from visitor restrictions,” Box said.
