Federal investigators sent a letter to Life Care Center of Kirkland in Seattle saying it could also lose federal funding for violating guidelines to reduce the spread of disease in the nation’s first-known outbreak. One nurse reported concerns as early as Feb. 12 about a fast spreading respiratory illness, but administrators thought it was the flu. Nursing home news is also from New York.
ABC News: Washington Nursing Home Could Face Fines For Allegedly Mishandling Virus Spread
A Seattle-area nursing home that became the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Washington could face $611,000 in fines and possible loss of government funding for violating federal guidelines put in place to stop the spread of infection, according to a letter sent to the facility by federal investigators. Life Care Center of Kirkland was the scene of one of the first and most-deadly coronavirus outbreaks last month, with 81 residents infected and 34 deaths. (Pecorin, 4/2)
ProPublica: Now That Coronavirus Is Inside This Adult Home For The Elderly Or Mentally Ill, It May Be Impossible To Stop
Over the years, Elmhurst residents have learned to mostly ignore the bedraggled and destitute residents who quarrel over cigarettes and beg for change outside the Queens Adult Care Center. But now, inside the worn brick building, are all the elements of an epidemiologist’s nightmare. On March 22 came proof that the deadly coronavirus had made its way into the home when one of its residents, an 82-year-old former nurse, succumbed to COVID-19. (Sapien, 4/2)
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