Where Are the Other 52 Nursing Homes with Outbreaks?

by Carol J. Bova

The governor’s Long Term Care Facility Task Force list shows 179 nursing home and assisted living facilities with outbreaks of COVID-19. There are 52 more, according to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Outbreaks tab on the daily COVID-19 data, but no explanation why they’re missing from the Task Force list.

It took a little digging to narrow down where those facilities are located. The Task Force list can’t be downloaded or copied or sorted. But by adding its info to the CMS nursing home COVID-19 dataset and tagging each entry with the locality the Task Force used, I could compare the faciliity locations to the VDH Outbreaks Data Downloads and compile a list breaking down the number of missing outbreaks by Health District.

Alexandria – 4
Arlington – 3
Central Shenandoah – 3
Chesapeake – 1
Chesterfield – 2
Chickahominy – 2
Crater – 2
Eastern Shore – 2
Fairfax – 14
Henrico – 3
Lord Fairfax – 3
Loudoun – 2
Prince William – 2
Rappahannock – 2
Rappahannock Rapidan – 1
Richmond City – 4
Southside – 1
Thomas Jefferson – 1

Now that the Task Force can see where facility data is missing, maybe staff will plug it in where it belongs. Without knowing exactly which nursing homes and assisted living facilities are affected, however, identifying problems and their solutions is a guessing game. Staff members and vulnerable LTCF residents deserve better.

Carol J. Bova is a writer who lives in Mathews County.