Residents of five Polk County nursing homes have died from COVID-19. Meanwhile, the state has designated Oakbridge Health Care Center in Lakeland as site for recovering patients.
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LAKELAND — Five nursing homes in Polk County have now reported pandemic-related deaths of residents, while another facility has been designated to care for recovering COVID-19 patients.
Oakbridge Health Care Center in Lakeland is one of five facilities chosen by Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration as COVID-dedicated nursing centers, the agency confirmed Tuesday. The facility in South Lakeland now has 21 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the latest report from the Florida Department of Health.
“These facilities, or wings of facilities, are used exclusively to serve medically stable COVID-19 positive patients who require skilled nursing facility level of care or who lack an appropriate discharge setting from hospitals while recovering from COVID-19,” read a statement from AHCA. “As such, COVID-dedicated facilities will have large numbers of positive cases that would not be considered an ‘outbreak’.”
As Oakbridge has shifted to caring for patients recovering from COVID-19, all other residents have been moved to other centers, company spokeswoman Jennifer Trapp said Tuesday.
Oakbridge, collaborating with the Florida Department of Health and local hospitals, is now admitting only COVID-positive patients who do not require hospital care but need isolation to safely recover before going back to their regular nursing homes, Trapp said.
Oakbridge has up to 120 beds available, the AHCA statement said, giving it the second-largest capacity of the five facilities that have made agreements with the state. The other centers designated are in Jacksonville, Pensacola, Port Charlotte and Lauderhill.
Of the 50 deaths of Polk County residents linked to COVID-19, at least 34 have involved current or former residents of elder-care centers. Highlands Lake Center, a nursing home in Lakeland, has drawn publicity for the deaths of at least 21 residents.
But Highlands Lake Center isn’t the only long-term care facility in Polk County with either multiple deaths or high numbers of residents testing positive for COVID-19.
Four other centers have reported at least one death of a resident linked to the disease, according to FDOH reports: Consulate Health Care of Lakeland (5), Brandywyne Health Care Center in Winter Haven (3), Lakeland Hills Center (2) and Palm Garden of Winter Haven (2).
On a single recent day — last Wednesday — six patients from five nursing homes died of COVID-19-related causes either at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center or Winter Haven Hospital, as confirmed by records from the Medical Examiner’s Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit.
Those deaths included two former residents of Palm Garden of Winter Haven, a 76-year-old woman and a 95-year-old woman. Those are the only two deaths so far reported from Palm Garden.
The other four whose deaths were recorded last Wednesday were transferred to hospitals from Lakeland Hills Center, Brandywyne Health Care Center, Consulate Health Care of Lakeland and Community Care Center in Plant City.
Highlands Lake Center has the highest total of current and former residents testing positive at 66, according to the FDOH. And 25 staff members have also been confirmed with COVID-19.
The Department of Health only issues updates on COVID-19 cases and deaths at long-term care centers on a weekly basis, so it is possible the actual numbers for the local facilities are higher. As an example, state officials are currently reporting 34 deaths at county long-term care facilities but the spreadsheet identifying the facilities only lists 33.
Highlands Lake Center, owned by Opis Senior Services, has reported deaths of 21 former residents. That is the fifth-highest figure for any facility in Florida.
Brandywyne in Winter Haven has the second-highest local total of cases, with 23 residents testing positive and 13 transferred to hospitals, as of Tuesday morning’s report from the FDOH. In addition, 16 employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
The disease has claimed three former residents of Brandywyne, a 120-bed center with skilled nursing and rehabilitation areas — an 86-year-old man, an 88-year-old man and a 92-year-old man.
Three former residents of Consulate Health Care of Lakeland died within nine days after being admitted to the Lakeland hospital.
The first, a 74-year-old man, was transferred March 27 with a high fever, cough and shortness of breath, as well as dementia, according to the Medical Examiner’s report. He died May 11.
A 92-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after testing positive May 9 and died three days later. A 77-year-old man died May 20, nine days after being admitted following a positive test result.
Consulate Health Care owns Oakbridge Health Care Center.
Trapp said 85% of residents at Consulate Health Care of Lakeland have tested negative for COVID-19.
“Upon learning of the COVID-19 diagnoses, the staff did an incredible job of immediately containing the virus,” Trapp said by email. “Those that remained in our care have all recovered and currently no patients in the building are showing signs or symptoms.”
Four Palm Garden residents have been transferred from the facility after testing positive for COVID-19, the FDOH reports. As of Tuesday, four current residents and two staff members had tested positive.
Community Care Center, also known as Community Convalescent Center, has reported deaths of 18 former residents. Five of them died after being transferred to LRHMC. The most recent one to die was a 91-year-old woman, Freddie Clark, who was taken to the hospital May 12 after testing positive for COVID-19 and displaying a fever and chills.
So far, 73 residents at the facility have tested positive for COVID-19, the FDOH reports.
Requests for comment left with the management of Brandywyne, Lakeland Hills Center and Palm Garden yielded no responses by Tuesday’s print deadline.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.
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