Two Johnson County senior care facilities are reporting COVID-19 cases and deaths, including three more deaths at a Franklin facility where a COVID-19 outbreak has occurred.
Officials at The Hearth at Stones Crossing in Greenwood said one resident who tested positive for the virus died in early April, and four others have tested positive, but seem to be recovering.
Officials at Otterbein Franklin SeniorLife Community said Friday three more residents who tested positive for the virus died this week, bringing its death toll to 10.
All three residents who died this week—women ranging in age from 78 to 92—tested positive for the virus and had underlying health conditions, according to a news release from Otterbein Franklin SeniorLife Community.
"At times like these, I am at a loss for words. We mourn their passing, and on behalf of everyone at the Otterbein Franklin SeniorLife Community, we send our sincere condolences to family, friends and neighbors, and we grieve with them," Otterbein Franklin executive director Rob Newcomer said in a statement.
As of Friday, 28 residents and 20 employees tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to the news release. Two residents are hospitalized, the news release said.
To date, 61 residents and 118 employees have been tested. Four test results were pending Friday, according to the news release.
"While this is very tough news, we are beginning to see signs of recovery. In addition to the resident who recovered from COVID-19 and was reported and discharged from the hospital last week, another nine residents have recovered in the last few days. We now have 10 residents that have recovered from the virus and either have already been, or will shortly, be moved to their homes or other health care units on campus. This is a cause for celebration, and cautious optimism," Newcomer said.
The outbreak originated last month when a therapist was admitted to the hospital and tested positive. Otterbein Franklin has more than 500 residents, 165 of whom are in the nursing home where the outbreak has occurred, and about 300 employees.
At Hearth, no employees have tested positive, but several showed symptoms and tested negative, said Kevin Hunter, Chief Operating Officer for Hearth Management, LLC, the Camillus, New York-based parent company.
The Greenwood facility has about 50 tests on hand, and is only giving tests to residents and employees who show symptoms, Hunter said.
Two weeks ago, after the first positive case, facility managers created an isolation area for those who test positive and do not have severe enough symptoms to be hospitalized. The area is cordoned off by a plastic zip wall, Hunter said.
A select few employees are dedicated to residents who are housed there and do not treat others at the facility, he said.
All Hearth staff members have their temperature taken each shift and are sent home if they have a fever or other symptoms, Hunter said.
Like all other senior care facilities, no visitors have been allowed in for more than a month.
Residents are isolated in their rooms. Common areas, such as the dining room, are shut down, and transportation offsite is no longer being offered, he said.
Staff is keeping residents and their families informed about the situation via weekly virtual meetings, Hunter said.
The county’s death toll remained at 30 Friday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
The state health department also reported 10 more laboratory confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing to 371 the number of cases in Johnson County.
The number of presumptive positive cases for COVID-19 in the state has risen to 10,154, following the emergence of 612 more cases.
The 612 new cases are the most the department has reported in its daily update since the beginning of the pandemic.
New reported cases have risen for the past three days, with 587 reported Thursday, 428 on Wednesday and 291 on Tuesday.
The state said Friday that the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 519, up from 477 the previous day—an increase of 42 deaths.
Deaths and positive cases are not always reported to the department immediately, which means the numbers can move inconsistently day to day.
The department reported the state’s first case on March 6.
The state reported that 54,785 people have been tested so far, up from 51,115 in Thursday’s report. The ISDH said the test numbers reflect only those tests reported to the department and the numbers should not be characterized as a comprehensive total.
Indianapolis reported 3,518 cases—up from 3,320 the previous day, an increase of 198 cases. The state reported 182 cumulative deaths in the city, up from 164 in Thursday’s report. The state said 17,571 people have been tested.
As for surrounding counties, Hamilton had 542 positive cases; Hendricks 407; Boone 145; Hancock 132; Madison 305; Morgan 111; and Shelby 97.
Every Indiana county has at least one case.
Health officials say Indiana has far more coronavirus cases—possibly thousands more—than those indicated by the number of tests.
As of Friday morning, 672,246 cases had been reported in the United States, with 33,325 deaths, according to a running tally maintained by health researchers at Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. More than 56,240 people have recovered.
Nearly 2.2 million cases have been reported globally, with 147,632 deaths. More than 556,700 people have recovered.
Daily Journal reporter Leeann Doerflein and the Indianapolis Business Journal contributed to this report.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”By the numbers” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Here is a look at the latest numbers available:
Johnson County
COVID-19 deaths: 30
COVID-19 cases: 371
COVID-19 tests: 2,084
Otterbein deaths: 10
Otterbein cases: 48
Otterbein recoveries: 10
Otterbein tests: 179
Hearth deaths: 1
Hearth cases: 5
Indiana
COVID-19 deaths: 519
COVID-19 cases: 10,154
COVID-19 tests: 54,785
U.S.
COVID-19 deaths: 33,325
COVID-19 cases: 672,246
COVID-19 recoveries: 56,240
World
COVID-19 deaths: 147,632
COVID-19 cases: 2.2M
COVID-19 recoveries: 556,700
Sources: Otterbein Franklin SeniorLife Community Johnson County Health Department, Indiana State Department of Health and Johns Hopkins University and Medicine
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