St. Elizabeth Healthcare and the Northern Kentucky Health Department (NKY Health) are working together with Rosedale Green in response to a cluster of COVID-19 cases. Over the course of five weeks, 33 residents have tested positive for COVID-19 at Rosedale Green, a 176-bed, senior living residential community in Covington.
Nursing homes are at a higher risk of being affected by COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Residents are in close living conditions and may have underlying chronic medical issues, which place them at increased risk for serious complications from COVID-19.
Rosedale Green
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and NKY Health convened the long-term care and senior living facilities in Northern Kentucky to create a cohesive plan to prepare for a possible spread of COVID-19 infections among this population.
In alignment with the developed plan and in an abundance of caution, St. Elizabeth Healthcare will be admitting all positive Rosedale Green patients needing hospitalization to its Ft. Thomas facility, where it has an Infectious Disease Response Team dedicated to treating COVID-19 positive patients.
Residents who do not require hospitalization will remain at Rosedale Green.
“Our three teams have implemented a plan that was developed in early March to provide treatment for COVID-19 positive patients and to mitigate the chances of further spread inside the building,” said Gary Blank, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
“Our St. Elizabeth and Rosedale Green teams are currently taking precautions as if all residents are COVID-19 positive until we know differently, and we are providing care inside the Rosedale Green building using the same personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control protocols that we use at our hospitals.”
St. Elizabeth Healthcare will be providing added infection control and sterilization resources to the facility as members of its Infection Control and Environmental Services teams will facilitate a deep clean of the entire Rosedale Green facility and will support Rosedale staff with additional PPE.
“This is a well-developed plan, and we appreciate the collaborative efforts,” said Dr. Lynne Saddler, District Director of Health for NKY Health. “In addition to supplying PPE, we continue to monitor the progress of positive cases and provide guidance to stop the spread of COVID-19 in this vulnerable population.”
Other steps taking place to assist Rosedale Green include the following:
• Separating residents based on exposure and symptoms.
• Testing residents and employees, as needed.
• Providing additional clinical staffing support as needed.
“We put into place countless proactive measures, some prior to local and state requirements, in order to prevent the spread of this virus and monitor all of our residents and staff,” said Londa Knollman, Executive Director of Rosedale Green. “More than five weeks ago we implemented visitor restrictions, isolation protocols, temperature screening for residents and staff, and mandatory requirements of personal protective equipment use.”
Given the number of Rosedale Green residents and employees who are currently in quarantine and symptomatic, it is expected that testing will reveal additional COVID-19 positive cases among residents at the facility.
The teams from Rosedale Green, St. Elizabeth Healthcare and NKY Health are confident this plan will keep residents, staff and the community as safe as possible.
