RI Department of Health Refuses Release Full List of Nursing Homes with Coronavirus Cases
GoLocalProv News Team
RI Department of Health Refuses Release Full List of Nursing Homes with Coronavirus Cases
More than half of the deaths in Rhode Island have ties to nursing home residents.
Repeated requests by GoLocal for the complete list of facilities have been denied by the Department of Health.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“These are the nursing homes at which we are currently seeing groupings of cases: Golden Crest, Oak Hill, Orchard View Manor, Oakland Gove, Brentwood; Elmhurst Healthcare Center; Harris Health Care Center North; Mount St. Rita; Riverview Community; Scalabrini Villa; Summit Commons; and Woonsocket Health Center,” said department spokesperson Joseph Wendelken.
Now, Rhode Island families who have been barred from visiting family members or ensuring safety, do not know if their family member's facility has positive cases.
In Connecticut, it has been family members -- and advocates -- calling for more transparency around COVID-19 in nursing homes, according to the CT Mirror.
GoLocal requested a list of all nursing homes that have positive cases, GoLocal received:
“Groupings of cases means five cases or more. I’m including approximate numbers below for these nursing homes,” said Wendelken.
The list forwarded by Health only included: Brentwood (5); Elmhurst Healthcare Center (20); Golden Crest (85); Harris Health Care Center North (15); Mount St. Rita (15); Oak Hill Health Center (70); Oakland Grove Health Center (40); Orchard View Manor (75); Riverview Community (20); Scalabrini Villa (30); Summit Commons (25); Woonsocket Health Center (10).
“We have moved away from reporting on facilities with isolated cases. This is because this has created some confusion in the past. In these instances, we are encouraging nursing homes to take the lead on communicating with residents and families,” said Wendelken.