All 46 employeess assigned to the Marquis Hope Village Assisted Living Facility have tested negative for the novel coronavirus, staff reported Monday.
The nursing home is located in the same building as Marquis’ Post-Acute Rehab center, which has seen 69 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since June 4, along with four deaths. The two facilities do not have shared caregivers, but there were kitchen staff that served both before the outbreak began.
Marquis had previously confirmed through testing that all 74 assisted living residents were negative for the virus. And the staff results today are more evidence that the facility’s containment strategy has proved successful so far.
Despite the good news, facility officials have already acknowledged that “challenging” weeks lay ahead, as their post-acute rehab staff work to address what has quickly become the state’s largest active outbreak at a long-term care facility.
Virtually all of the residents at the post-acute rehab center — 33 out of 38 — tested positive for Covid-19 last week. Four have since died, the most recent on Saturday.
And with more than a third of the facility’s approximately 100 employees testing positive for the coronavirus, staffing has become a concern. Diaz said they are working with other Marquis facilities to reassign employees and may utilize staffing agencies, if needed.
Some Covid-positive — but asymptomatic — staff members are being allowed to work in the area where residents who also have the coronavirus have been isolated.
“As we know with this infection, circumstances can rapidly change,” said April Diaz, Marquis vice president of clinical services, when asked for an update on the rehab center today. “Currently, amongst our residents, there continues to be a range of conditions from asymptomatic to mild to critical.”
