Outbreak at Spokane Veterans Home leads to one resident death
The Spokane Veterans Home has another COVID-19 outbreak that already has led to the death of at least one resident.
Late on Wednesday, the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs reported that a resident had died following a COVID-19 diagnosis, “either due to COVID-19 or other underlying medical conditions.”
Facility-wide testing this week has found 21 new cases in the facility, including 11 residents who tested positive and 10 staff members.
There are three residents who have tested positive for the virus hospitalized in the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center.
Testing is happening nearly every day at the facility, and at the very least every three to seven days. Staff are tested twice a week.
The facility had a very low vaccination rate among staff as of earlier this summer, and since July 21, the home has confirmed 52 COVID-19 cases, including positive tests for 32 residents and 20 staff members.
The staff vaccination rate has increased a bit since last month, but is at 52% of all 110 staff members who have been vaccinated, despite the vast majority of residents opting to receive the vaccine.
Since the summer outbreak at the Spokane Veterans Home, Gov. Jay Inslee has issued a vaccine mandate for all health care staff working in the state, which includes those working in long-term care facilities.
All employees must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, meaning they will need to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine early next week or opt to get the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Oct. 4.
So far, some employees have filed paperwork for exemptions to this vaccine requirement, but the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs did not say how many.
The Spokane Veterans Home is offering COVID-19 vaccines to their employees, and administrators are in the process of verifying vaccination status of all employees.
Outbreaks in long-term facilities have increased statewide with the surge of the delta variant, although outbreaks are not at the levels seen last winter.
The Spokane Veterans Home is working with the Spokane Regional Health District on infection control measures, but the department has not identified a single source of how the virus got into the facility.