Chisolm Trail nursing home reports caring for 51 COVID-positive residents

Chisolm Trail Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Lockhart is reporting they are caring for 51 COVID-positive residents, according to a statement on their website.

“During any emergency situation such as this one, the safety of our patients and residents is our first priority,” the Jan. 14 statement said. “We are doing everything we can to ensure we stop the spread of this within our center and our community.”

The statement said the center has residents and team members who tested positive, but only lists the number of residents. LPR reached out to Chisolm Trail to find out how many staff had been infected, as well as how many total residents at the facility, but the woman who answered the phone hung up.

Caldwell County Chief of Emergency Management Hector Rangel said when he spoke to someone at Chisolm Trail on Jan. 14, they confirmed 24 cases among staff and 30 among residents. He said the nursing home told him they used their own company to disinfect the facility, but a date of when that occurred was not given.

No one at Chisolm Trail notified Caldwell County officials of their current cases.

“They should have reported to the county that they were having an outbreak, and they didn’t,” Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden said by phone Thursday. “They are under no obligation to, but morally they should have.”

Judge Haden also reported he had not heard from Texas state health officials about the cases at the facility.

“The county hasn’t heard from anyone,” Haden said.

Chisolm Trail said they have informed residents and designated representatives, of the situation, however that has not been confirmed by LPR. The statement also said they informed the Texas Department of Health, as well as the CDC of the cases.

LPR reached out to Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) who said they are looking into it.

“Protecting the health and safety of the people in long-term care facilities we regulate is our top priority. We are working closely with long-term care facilities in Texas to ensure they have up-to-date, clear information on COVID-19,” a press officer said in an emailed statement. “HHSC also has coordinated closely with our local, state, and federal partners to rapidly get nursing facilities the resources they need to protect residents to the greatest extent possible. These resources include emergency staffing, PPE, and testing for staff and residents.”

Nursing homes and assisted living facilities are required by law to report the number of COVID cases at their facilities to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Chisolm Trail reported three cases for the week ending Jan. 3, according to CDC data. Due to a lag in reported data, as well as unanswered questions by Chisolm Trail, it is unclear if the increase in cases occurred since Jan. 3, or if data has gone unreported from the facility.