2 workers at Kennewick nursing home have coronavirus. Seniors and staff being tested

Two staff members at a Kennewick nursing home have tested positive for COVID-19.

The ill employees work at Regency Canyon Lakes Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Kennewick.

In addition, Bonaventure Senior Living in south Richland had two more residents in its independent living section test positive for the novel coronavirus.

In all, seven people at Bonaventure tested positive or are probable cases, said the Benton Franklin Health District.

In Kennewick, Regency Canyon Lakes told the Tri-City Herald it is testing six residents and eight other workers who may have come in contact with the two employees who tested positive, it said.

It received one negative result on a tested resident and is awaiting results for the other six residents and eight employees.

The testing was done at the direction of the home’s medical director and in conjunction with the Washington state Department of Health, said the company.

“We have taken immediate steps to remove any staff who exhibit signs and symptoms of the virus from the facility and they are receiving appropriate care and monitoring for the disease,” Regency Canyon Lakes said in a statement to the Herald provided by administrator Chrissy Vreeland.

They will remain in isolation until their doctors determine they are no longer a risk to the home’s residents and can safely return to work.

Regency Canyon Lakes has been in daily contact with the Benton Franklin Health District and Residential Care Services of the Washington state Department of Social and Health Services.

‘Stressful and emotional’

“Our facility has implemented all of the precautions and guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and other healthcare experts to prevent and limit the virus within our healthcare center,” Regency Canyon Lakes said in the statement.

Before testing or confirmation of a COVID-19 case, Regency Canyon Lakes staff had been screening staff for illness when they arrived for work each day and had stopped allowing outside visitors, Regency Canyon Lakes said.

It was checking residents for possible indications of infection, including temperature, oxygen saturation and lung sounds.

The center had increased the frequency of cleaning and had trained staff on how to put on and take off their personal protective equipment, such as gloves and masks, to prevent the spread of contamination.

All visitors and other non-essential people will continue to be stopped from entering the nursing home for the foreseeable future, with the exception of visitors to residents at the end of life, Regency Canyon Lakes said.

Staff is working to “meet this extraordinary challenge in a compassionate and understanding way,” the statement said. It called its staff “heroes” as they cared for residents each day despite their own concerns and family responsibilities.

Regency Canyon Lakes also said it is “a very stressful and emotional time for our residents and families as well as our community and nation.”

Bonaventure in Richland

Bonaventure Senior Living in Richland now has had six residents with COVID-19, including two patients who have died.

All cases have been in its independent living section.

A seventh person has tested positive, according to the health district, but it was not immediately clear if that was a resident or an employee.

The most recent cases include a resident who has been hospitalized and a person with underlying health issues, whose test results came back positive after death, said Pam Gray, chief operating officer for Oregon-based Bonaventure, on Wednesday.

It was the second death at Bonaventure linked to the novel coronavirus.

The first death in Benton and Franklin counties attributed to novel coronavirus was a woman in her 80s who had an independent living suite at Bonaventure. She came home from an early March visit to Redmond, Wash., in King County feeling ill.

She self-quarantined with her husband in their suite when they returned until she was hospitalized.

Three Bonaventure residents remain hospitalized and one has improved enough to return to Bonaventure.

The 97 residents of of Bonaventure’s independent living center can cook their own meals or eat in the communal dining room, which is now closed, and have housekeeping services. They are free to come and go from the center and receive no medical services from Bonaventure.

Bonaventure also has an assisted living section, with 75 residents, who receive more help, including with medications and mobility issues, and any other help needed from an on-site registered nurse or caregivers. Its residents require less help than those in a full nursing home.

Bonaventure has worked with doctors to get residents of both independent and assisted living tested and has received four negative test results so far. Residents are keeping to their suites and no visitors area allowed.

Bonaventure officials say they continue to try to figure out how the novel coronavirus has infected the six independent living residents.

This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 5:32 PM.