COVID-attributed nursing home deaths in Caldwell County continue to rise

By Kristen Meriwether, Editor LPR

COVID attributed deaths of nursing home residents in Caldwell County continue to rise, according to weekly Centers for Disease Control (CDC) data.

Chisolm Trail Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Lockhart reported one new COVID-attributed death for the week of Jan. 24, bringing their total to two for the pandemic.

Diversicare of Luling lost two residents to COVID the week of Jan. 10, and one each of the following weeks brining their total to four deaths for the pandemic. The deaths come after reporting no COVID cases at their facility during the entire pandemic until the week of Jan. 3. when 12 residents tested positive.

Cases have since subsided with only two residents reporting positive the week of Jan. 24. A Feb. 3 statement on their website reported zero COVID-positive residents but did mention team members were still testing positive.

Chisolm Trail and Diversicare of Luling are owned by the same parent company, Diversicare, which is headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn. The company provides long-term care services to nursing home patients in nine states, primarily in the Southeast and Southwest United States. According to their 2019 annual report the company had 62 locations, including 13 in Texas.

In a Feb. 4 statement on their corporate website, Diversicare addressed COVID at length, including deaths at their facilities: “The CDC has instructed physicians to report deaths of those who are COVID-19 positive or presumed positive as a ‘COVID-19 death’. Our patients are elderly, frail, and often have co-morbidities. Many of these patients may also be receiving end of life palliative care.” It is very difficult, if not impossible, in many cases to accurately determine that COVID-19 was the cause of death for many of our patients who passed away after testing positive. To date, we have had 645 patients pass away who tested positive for COVID-19. We are unable to say how many of those deaths were primarily related to the effects of COVID-19.”

Parkview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lockhart reported no new deaths in the Jan. 27 CDC data. They have reported three resident fatalities due to COVID during the pandemic.

The six facilities in Lockhart and Luling have lost 31 residents to COVID during the pandemic. That is 46 percent of all COVID deaths in Caldwell County, which stood at 68 on Feb. 8.