MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Health Department is investigating outbreaks of COVID-19 at seven nursing homes, assisted living facilities and residential treatment centers.
Thirty-four residents and nine staff members at seven sites dedicated to helping “vulnerable populations” have tested positive for the virus, and three residents at one facility have died, the health department reported Wednesday.
Outbreaks had previously been reported at three facilities on the list — Carriage Court Assisted Living, Parkway Health and Rehabilitation, and The Village at Germantown.
Positive cases are now also reported at Christian Care Center of Memphis in East Memphis; Heritage at Irene Woods in southeast Shelby County; Kings Daughters and Sons Home in Bartlett; and Delta Specialty Hospital, a residential treatment center on Getwell Road, formerly known as Delta Medical Center.
The clusters were comprised of between three and 10 cases at each facility. Four of those facilities reported clusters of cases within the past four days.
State and local health officials are working with the facilities where clusters were found, Dr. Alisa Haushalter with the Shelby County Health Department said.
The administrator for Kings Daughters and Sons Home sent a statement saying that the infected residents were all quarantined in their rooms and were being attended to by staff members wearing proper equipment. The infected employee was quarantined at home.
“We are working closely with the local and state healthcare agencies, including the Shelby County Health Department, and are grateful for the guidance they can provide at this time,” she said.
Christian Care Center representatives said they believed all four of its cases came from residents who lived on the same hallway near each other. The facility’s medical director said they have reason to believe the outbreak is isolated to that small area.
“We love our community and are sincerely thankful for the honor of serving the citizens of our great
Shelby County/Memphis area, especially in this unprecedented time. We ask for your prayers as we
contend with this elusive wicked virus,” Christian Care Center said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Heritage at Irene Woods said the facility is working closely with the health department.
“Beginning this week, we have been proactively testing our memory care and assisted living residents, in addition to many members of our care team. As of noon today, a majority of our test results have been negative,” she said Wednesday.
Shelby County reported a total of 1,432 confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday morning, April 15. The total number of deaths in Shelby County attributed to COVID-19 was 33.
The majority of cases were detected in people aged between 21 and 61.
