St. Elizabeth Healthcare disclosed Wednesday that it will admit as patients all residents of the Rosedale Green nursing home who need hospitalization after testing positive for Covid-19.
Residents who don’t require hospitalization will remain at the 176-bed nursing home in Covington, which has had 33 residents test positive for coronavirus disease over five weeks.
Rosedale Green has 150 residents, and seven others have died because of Covid-19. The facility includes short-term rehabilitation, long-term nursing care, memory care, therapy services and palliative & hospice care.
Those who need to be hospitalized will be admitted to St. Elizabeth’s Fort Thomas facility, which has an Infectious Disease Response Team dedicated to treating Covid-19 patients.
Considering the number of Rosedale Green residents and employees who are in quarantine and show symptoms of coronavirus disease, testing is expected to reveal additional Covid-19 cases among people who live at the seventh-largest nursing home in Greater Cincinnati.
“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 and infection-control protocols that we use at our hospitals,” said Gary Blank, chief operating officer of St. Elizabeth Healthcare.
Members of St. Elizabeth’s Infection Control and Environmental Services teams will facilitate a deep clean of the entire Rosedale Green facility and provide additional personal protective equipment to staff at Rosedale.
In early March, Edgewood-based St. Elizabeth Healthcare and NKY Health consulted with long-term care and senior living facilities in Northern Kentucky to begin planning for the possible spread of COVID-19. Nursing home residents are at risk because they tend to be in close living conditions and might have underlying medical issues.
“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,” said Londa Knollman, executive director of Rosedale Green.
Measures to help Rosedale Green include:
- Separating residents based on exposure and symptoms
- Providing additional clinical staffing support as needed
The Northern Kentucky Health District provides services to more than 400,000 residents of Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties. The agency’s goals include preventing disease and protecting against health threats such as those now faced by residents of Rosedale Green.
“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.”
Operated by Kenton Housing Inc., Rosedale Green was established in 1962 as the Kenton County Infirmary. It also was previously known as Rosedale Manor.