NEWS
A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020
As others emerge around the state, Umatilla County
care facilities fi ght to prevent a local horror story
By ALEX CASTLE
STAFF WRITER
Two long-term care facil-
ities in Umatilla County
were awaiting COVID-19
test results for residents and
staff on April 10. Adminis-
trators from both confi rmed
last week that those results
were negative and there are
currently no active cases in
the facilities.
However, both facilities
— Cascade Valley Assisted
Living and Memory Care
in Milton-Freewater and
Guardian Angel Homes
in Hermiston — remain
entrenched in the ongoing
fi ght to keep COVID-19
from spreading among our
most vulnerable population.
“I can say we have no
pending tests or confi rmed
cases right now,” said Tyson
Frantz, owner of Guardian
Angel Homes. “But I can
also say that may not be the
case tomorrow.”
As of April 14, state offi -
cials said 32 of Oregon’s
52 deaths that had been
attributed to COVID-19
were connected to long-term
care facilities. On April 16,
offi cials confi rmed at least
14 deaths at a single Port-
land nursing home could be
attributed to the virus.
The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services have
called long-term care facili-
ties “an accelerator” for the
spread of the virus, as evi-
denced by the tragic stories
that have developed around
the state and country.
For Frantz and adminis-
trators at the other 21 long-
term care facilities in Uma-
tilla and Morrow counties
monitored by the Depart-
ment of Human Services,
those stories have served
as warnings and lessons for
how to try and prevent an
outbreak, and how to limit
its potential carnage.
To detect an outbreak
before it becomes a crisis,
Staff photo by Ben Lonergan
A “Heroes Work Here” sign was erected at Guardian Angel Homes in Hermiston earlier this
month. The facility has increased staffi ng levels in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
the Oregon Health Author-
ity has streamlined test-
ing for residents and staff
at such facilities within the
state. Umatilla County Pub-
lic Health Director Joe Fiu-
mara said facilities have
been provided a document
template to fi ll out and send
with any of its pending tests
so that the state lab can pri-
oritize running it.
Neither facility provided
specifi cs on the amount of
tests run on residents or staff
at the facility, but Frantz
said his Hermiston facility
is relying on criteria from
health offi cials for when to
administer a COVID-19 test.
According to Christina
Avila, the executive director
of Cascade Valley Assisted
Living and Memory Care
in Milton-Freewater, her
staff and residents are being
tested if they’re showing
even one of the potential
symptoms for COVID-19,
such as a cough, fever or
shortness of breath.
Both
administrators
said there were no posi-
tive cases as of last week,
however, Fiumara said the
county wouldn’t necessar-
ily announce whether there
was a single resident or staff
member who tested positive
at any of the county’s long-
term care facilities.
For now, that information
would come from the state,
which recently began pro-
viding twice-a-week updates
on which facilities have con-
fi rmed cases and or pending
tests, though specifi c num-
bers are only provided for
facilities with three or more
cases or at least one death.
No facilities in Umatilla
County have a confi rmed
case, according to state data
released April 14.
Otherwise, Fiumara said
the county is merely serv-
ing in an advisory role and is
waiting to assist any facility
that needs it.
“We’re trying to be a
resource to them without
getting in their way,” he
said.
On the frontlines of pre-
vention, facilities have
implemented rigorous san-
itation protocols and strict
screening
policies.
At
Guardian Angel Homes, that
includes screening each of
its 64 residents every day
and screening each of the 45
staff members before every
shift.
“It’s been a burden for
sure, but worth the precau-
tion given the risks of this
virus,” Frantz said.
While the Department of
Human Services has insti-
tuted an admission freeze for
facilities with active corona-
virus cases, Avila said Cas-
cade Valley has mandated
a 14-day quarantine for all
new residents admitted to
the facility.
Frantz said one of his
takeaways from reading the
“horror stories” of other
facilities was the risk of
staff transmitting the virus
among themselves and
the residents. As a result,
Guardian Angel Homes has
taken measures to address it,
including shutting down the
staff break room, requiring
all employees clock in from
mobile devices, and cohort-
ing staff to particular build-
ings and wings.
Cascade Valley has also
assigned staff to cohorts,
Avila said.
Like other essential work-
ers in high-risk areas, facil-
ity staff are in need of per-
sonal protective equipment
for their own safety, which
both facilities said they’ve
prioritized and have man-
aged to keep in stock, so far.
That equipment will
become critical in the event
of an outbreak, Frantz said.
Guardian Angel Homes
recently placed a “signifi -
cant” order for equipment
that was scheduled to arrive
by the end of last week.
Frantz said they purpose-
fully ordered in excess, so
other facilities will have a
local supply, if needed.
As for how his Hermiston
facility would handle a con-
fi rmed outbreak of COVID-
19, Frantz said they’ve
developed too many con-
tingency plans to enumer-
ate how the facility would
respond.
“We have layers of plans
depending on the nature of
the outbreak,” Frantz said,
noting it would depend on
which of the facility’s three
buildings had the outbreak
and which residents or staff
tested positive.
Avila said their facility in
Milton-Freewater had iso-
lated a hall dedicated to res-
idents who display symp-
toms of the virus where they
can be quarantined.
Amid the preventative
measures, the threat of the
virus has disrupted daily life
at long-term care facilities,
and residents’ ability to stay
in contact with their families
has been severely limited by
statewide restrictions on vis-
itations that were enacted on
March 17.
“It’s heartbreaking for us
that visitations have to be so
restricted,” Frantz said.
Frantz said Guardian
Angel Homes has distrib-
uted a tablet to each of the
facility’s buildings that is
dedicated for residents to
use for video calls with fam-
ily members. Avila said Cas-
cade Valley residents have
also been relying on tech-
nology like Skype and Face-
Time to speak with family.
Along with staying con-
nected to those outside the
facility, Avila noted staff has
worked to develop one-on-
one activities for residents
to participate in to replace
group events or trips into the
community that have tempo-
rarily ceased.
“Cabin fever is defi nitely
a high concern, but we have
a great activities direc-
tor who has kept the spirits
high,” Avila said. “I think
it’s been important to fi nd
daily activities that are still
safe for our residents to par-
ticipate in.”
Guardian Angel Homes
has actually increased its
staffi ng levels in order for
residents to have more
resources for care and
engagement as the residents
and staff work together to
keep the virus out of the
facility.
“I’m absolutely gushing
with total praise and grat-
itude to the staff and peo-
ple supporting this vulnera-
ble portion of the population
right now,” Frantz said.
“They deserve every word
of gratitude for what they’re
doing, while putting them-
selves at risk, and that’s not
just my staff, but every facil-
ity in Umatilla County and
Eastern Oregon.”
For those wishing to offer
support, Avila suggested
writing letters to residents.
OREGON'S 2ND
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