Fewer COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term care facilities this week

Long-term care facilities throughout Illinois and parts of the suburbs are reporting fewer active COVID-19 outbreaks this week.

Illinois Department of Public Health records show 523 facilities throughout the state have "open" outbreaks, or new cases reported within the past 28 days. That's down from 532 such facilities a week ago.

IDPH is reporting 18,832 "open" cases among nursing home residents and employees statewide, 1,909 fewer than last week.

"The staff of our nursing homes don't get enough credit for what they do every day," said Pat Comstock, COVID response director for the Health Care Council of Illinois, a lobbying and advocacy organization for more than 300 nursing facilities in the state. "It's really our heroic staff that takes their jobs so seriously to provide a safe environment for their residents who are, in many cases, like family members to them."

The news on nursing homes comes as state health officials announced 24 more deaths from the respiratory disease Friday as well as another 2,208 infections. Thirteen deaths were in Chicago and the suburbs and 11 were downstate.

The state has now recorded 215,929 cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak began, while 7,857 Illinois residents have died from the virus.

Residents of long-term care facilities make up 4,319, or 55%, of the state's dead from COVID-19, according to the state's website, dph.illinois.gov/covid19. In Cook County, 2,350 of the 4,997 who have died from the virus were long-term care facility residents, or 47%, according to IDPH. DuPage County is reporting 423 of those who died were in long-term care facilities, almost 80% of all the county's COVID-19 deaths. IDPH is reporting 306 of Lake County's 455 COVID-19 deaths, 67%, were in long-term care facilities.

In Kane County, 177 of the 306 COVID-19 deaths, or 58%, were people living in long-term care facilities. McHenry County officials are reporting 90 of the 115 COVID-19 deaths, 78%, were people living in congregate settings. However, Will County officials are reporting just 49% of the county's COVID-19 deaths - 174 of 354 - were in long-term care facilities.

"But it's not over," warned Bob Gallo, Illinois state director for the AARP. "Communication between these facilities and loved ones is still a concern. The delays in getting timely results from testing are still happening. We don't know if many of these places have the right PPE. The state is doing what it's doing, but I'm not sure it's doing all it can be doing."

In fact, IDPH officials announced Friday that Manatt Health Strategies has been hired to investigate the agency's Bureau of Long-Term Care in the Office of Health Care Regulation following reports of delayed investigations of abuse allegations during the pandemic. A former federal prosecutor has also been hired to oversee IDPH investigations into complaints made regarding long-term care facilities during the pandemic.

"The independent reviews are being launched in response to IDPH's recent discovery that the Bureau of Long-Term Care was not properly processing and investigating complaints of abuse and neglect at long-term care facilities from approximately March 15 to June 30, 2020," IDPH officials said in a news release Friday.

Comstock said anyone with loved ones in a long-term care facility who they're having trouble contacting should reach out to the administrator of that facility. She added that IDPH has not been prevented from investigating and complaints since the outbreak began.

"The department of public health has never stopped coming into our buildings," she said. "Surveyors have open access. They still have to go through the screening process, but they've been in our buildings regularly."

Since the outbreak began, IDPH officials say the agency has conducted more than 1,000 infection control inspections at 727 long-term care facilities across the state.