Loved Ones Question Nursing Facilities Accepting Coronavirus Patients
FAIR OAKS (CBS13) - Elderly patients recovering from the coronavirus are getting out of the hospital and sent to skilled nursing facilities.
But people with family members at those facilities aren't happy about it.
Lydia Sizelove has always been close with her Mom, so the pandemic has taken a toll. Sizelove hasn't been able to visit her at her nursing facility.
"I look through the window at her, we touch hands. It's very frustrating," said Sizelove.
Her mother is at the Eskaton Care Center in Fair Oaks which started a program taking in COVID-19 patients just released from the hospital.
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"I think they're putting everyone at risk. It's not just the residents it's when and if we go to visit," said Sizelove.
Eskaton Chief Operating Officer Betsy Donovan says the incoming COVID 19 patients would be in a separate wing, with separate supplies, and nurses will use a different entrance and even different break rooms.
Still, Donovan says she understands the concerns. She says Eskaton is following the guidelines of health experts to minimize risks.
"Our goal is the same as everyone's goal, to protect all elderly in our community whether they're in this program or in the existing facility," said Donovan.
"The nurses and the doctors are doing the best to help other people and I get that but I don't understand why they would blend them with the elderly people," said Sizelove.
The Eskaton Care Center isn't alone. Skilled nursing facilities across the state are taking in coronavirus patients as they're released from the hospital.
The California Department of Public Health says it's taken several measures to protect residents and workers of skilled nursing facilities. It's deployed strike teams of nurses to oversee safety measures and help facilities isolate patients.
CDPH regularly updates the number of COVID-19 positive patients and healthcare workers on its website.
