SAN JOSE — A total of six people at an East San Jose skilled nursing facility have tested positive for COVID-19, and the facility’s operators are working with county health experts to test and monitor another 26 people at the site.
The people who tested positive are in isolation from other residents and staff, according to a news release from Canyon Springs Post-Acute Care.
The news comes after facility administrator Benton Collins confirmed to the Bay Area News Group Wednesday that two residents and a staff member from the facility had contracted the virus. At the time, another three people at the facility who were “identified with minor respiratory symptoms” were awaiting test results which were confirmed positive Thursday.
“This incident underscores the service and sacrifices made by our dedicated team every day. We’re grateful for their continued efforts,” Collins said in a written statement Thursday. “We have been vigilant and early for weeks in adopting the practices and protocols that have been directed by Centers for Disease Control, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, state and county guidance to protect the frail and vulnerable residents entrusted to our care. Our top priority remains the health and well-being of everyone in our facility.”
Already, the facility had been preparing isolation rooms, building up its supply of protective equipment and had banned visitor access, according to the news release.
Canyon Springs is located across the street from Regional Medical Center and abuts duplexes and multifamily homes. The facility treats patients who need special care immediately after leaving the hospital, as well as long-term care for those with dementia, Alzheimer’s or related problems. It has on average 160 patients on-site at any given time.
Early in the week, Collins in voicemail messages updated families of patients about the residents and a staffer who had tested positive for COVID-19, and then urged the families to discharge them from the facility and bring them home to quarantine — a request that had some family members anxious.
Seniors and those with underlying medical conditions, like many of those receiving care and treatment at Canyon Springs, face the highest mortality rate from the virus. People older than 60 account for 75 percent of the 30 deaths in Santa Clara County.
It was at a nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, that the first outbreak in the U.S. exploded. Eighty of its 120 residents tested positive and more than 30 died from the virus.
In the Bay Area, several smaller outbreaks at nursing homes have been made public.
Check back for updates.
Staff writers Evan Webeck and Thomas Peele contributed reporting.
