Coronavirus outbreak hits Central Kentucky nursing home for veterans
Two dozen veterans being cared for at Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore have tested positive for coronavirus as of Tuesday afternoon.
Mark Bowman, executive director of the Office of Kentucky Veterans Centers, said eight veterans who were showing symptoms of the virus have been sent to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington for treatment, while the remainder of those who tested positive are asymptomatic and are in isolation at the Jessamine County nursing home.
Since Sept. 10, when a staff member tested positive, the facility has been testing all residents and employees every 72 hours, he said. Bowman said nine staff members have tested positive so far, five of whom have recovered and four of whom remain in quarantine.
The outbreak among residents has ballooned over the past several days, Bowman said, noting that going into the weekend, there were three veterans who had tested positive.
“It kind of spreads like wildfire,” he said.
He said those associated with the facility are “hoping and praying” that the outbreak can be contained. Thomson-Hood has 131 residents.
“It’s tough, and we hate it for our veterans and their families,” Bowman said.
He said the nursing home had been planning to begin allowing modified visitation of residents just before the outbreak began, but those plans have been put on hold.
Thomson-Hood is one of four Kentucky nursing facilities operated by the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs. Bowman said two of the other facilities have had no cases of COVID-19 among residents so far.
He said Eastern Kentucky Veterans Center in Hazard had an outbreak among 10 veterans in August and September but has had no new cases since then. He said two of the residents of the Hazard facility died, though only one was determined to be related to COVID-19.
This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 5:48 PM.
