Caring for Caregivers: What family caregivers sacrifice and need the most
There are 3.5 million Texans who are caregivers for a sick or elderly family member, and many of them feel alone. Solutionaries is showing how many things these caregivers have in common, and revealing the many resources already out there. The caregivers themselves explain what more needs to be done.
With the federal vaccine mandate for health care workers halted, Texas nursing homes dodge furloughs and fines
Texasโ nursing home staff vaccination rates are lower than half the countryโs โ but a judgeโs decision last week to delay a vaccine mandate helped them avoid laying off a third of their employees.
Camera catches COVID-19 patientโs final breaths in San Antonio nursing home
Rafael Armendariz's daughters spoke with the KSAT 12 Defenders about their father's death late last year. Rafael Armendariz avoided contracting COVID-19 until early November 2020. Around 3:08 a.m., the footage shows that Rafael Armendariz lifted his blanket above his head while the other cannula remained in place. Within 30 minutes, Rafael Armendarizโs breathing becomes noticeably labored, according to the video. Rafael Armendariz was pronounced dead at 5:28 a.m., according to his death certificate.
What nursing home visits will look like in Texas following Gov. Greg Abbottโs new guidance
Greg Abbott announced Thursday that visitations can resume at nursing homes throughout most of the state under new guidance. Under the new rules, laid out on the stateโs website, residents can designate up to two essential family caregivers who can visit the facility. Depending on the facility, it can offer outdoor visits, open window visits or indoor visitation with the use of plexiglass safety barriers. In these visits, physical contact is not permitted. For more information on Abbottโs announcement, visit the state website.
Records detail deficiencies in San Antonio nursing homeโs COVID-19 control practices
SAN ANTONIO โ The Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Thursday released a 460-page report detailing complaints against Southeast Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, where COVID-19 ran rampant among residents and staff in April. The partially redacted records were released in response to a records request filed by the KSAT 12 Defenders in July. According to state figures, a total of 17 employees and 77 residents were infected with COVID-19 at the nursing home, the site of San Antonioโs first outbreak of the deadly virus. Four of the staff members, who had pending COVID-19 tests, were still working in the facility. Staff members who tested positive for COVID-19 were supposed to self-isolate at home.
โShe knew she had a job to do': Social worker dies from COVID-19, remembered as dedicated
FLORESVILLE, Texas โ A Floresville social worker is being remembered for her passion for helping nursing home residents after dying from COVID-19 complications. Peeler had been a social worker for more than 25 years, and she spent most of that time caring for residents at different nursing homes. Felan hopes to carry on her motherโs legacy as a social worker. โI wish I could be half the social worker that she was, and I strive to do that. Felan said she chooses to remember her mother as a woman who dedicated her life to others.
Coronavirus cases in Texas nursing homes more than doubled in July. Families say the state still isnโt testing enough.
By June 11, Texas had completed an initial, month-long round of mandatory testing in all Texas nursing facilities. The ability to reopen nursing homes โ which have been closed to visitors since mid-March โ depends on it, Lutzel said. Last week, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services committed to sending testing devices to nursing homes. But with more than 1,200 nursing homes and 2,000 assisted-living facilities in Texas, 57 devices are โnot nearly enough,โ Tran said. Warren said nursing homes โare doing everything they know to do to fight a virus we donโt see.โ
Gov. Abbott announces COVID-19 testing being provided for assisted living facilities, nursing homes
AUSTIN COVID-19 point-of-care testing will be provided for assisted living facilities and nursing homes throughout the state. Greg Abbott made the announcement Friday that Omnicare, a CVS Health company, is partnering with the state of Texas to provide the testing. This partnership with Omnicare and CVS Health will increase COVID-19 testing in our assisted living facilities and nursing homes and help us protect vulnerable Texans from COVID-19, Abbott said in a released statement. Testing in assisted living facilities began Thursday. State testing teams completed testing of all nursing home staff and residents in June at the direction of Abbott, according to the release.
New Braunfels nursing home staff, residents isolating after positive COVID-19 test
NEW BRAUNFELS โ An outside medical professional who provides services to residents at EdenHill Communities in New Braunfels tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the nursing home confirmed on Monday. The positive diagnosis came after EdenHill tested all nursing home residents, staff and outside medical professionals as part of Texas Governor Greg Abbottโs mandate on testing all nursing home communities in the state. The tests were recently conducted by the New Braunfels Fire Department. New Braunfels Fire Department to begin conducting COVID-19 tests at nursing homesThe provider who tested positive was in contact with four nursing home residents, five assisted living residents and โseveralโ staff members, according to the nursing homeโs news release. โIn an overabundance of caution we are isolating these residents and requiring the staff who may have been exposed to the positive individual to isolate at home,โ nursing home officials said.
Gov. Greg Abbott to have Texas National Guard help disinfect nursing homes
Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced that he will have the Texas National Guard help to disinfect nursing homes to reduce the spread of COVID-19, per a press release. The disinfection teams will work in conjunction with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and will provide a boost to protecting Texans. โThe Texas National Guard plays a crucial role in our ongoing response to COVID-19, and I am grateful for their work to address the unique challenges our nursing homes face during this pandemic,โ Abbott said. โThe Texas National Guard readily accepts this newest mission assignment,โ said Major General Tracy Norris. We stand ready to continue to serve both here at home and abroad in the war fight.โThe Texas National Guard was already providing personal protective equipment manufacturing support, food bank support, mobile COVID-19 testing, and points of distribution for essential items, the press release said.
San Antonio officials release information on coronavirus outbreaks at 4 area nursing homes
It was not clear if that figure included testing performed at nursing homes with no positive cases. ORIGINALThe San Antonio Metropolitan Health District released new information about 39 COVID-19 cases from four Bexar County nursing homes. According to a city news release Tuesday afternoon, 23 residents and 16 staff members have tested positive between the four locations. San Antonio officials release information about coronavirus cases at nursing homes. Eight others are from The Rio, and the other nine are from other nursing homes or hospitals in San Antonio, Blake said.
Texas governor says new announcement on reopening businesses will come next week
SAN ANTONIO โ While stressing that the stateโs approach has been โvery cautious,โ Texas Governor Greg Abbott told KSAT 12 News that a new round of announcements on reopening businesses will come on Monday. San Antonio doctors warn of possible โCOVID cliffโ for patients recovering from virusWhen asked about the feedback heโs received since opening businesses, Abbott said all his plans are vetted by four doctors on his task force to make sure businesses can reopen safely. Some medical experts have expressed their concerns with how quickly states are reopening. Texas has to curb the COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons, nursing homes and meatpacking plants, Abbott said, and parents need to be able to put their children in daycare. Weโve got to find a way to do it, but safely.โAbbott said his team has been working with doctors and childcare provider experts to come up with a plan on how to reopen daycares.
San Antonioโs plan to move COVID-19 patients from area nursing homes to 2 facilities slammed by county commissioner
SAN ANTONIO โ San Antonio city officials on Friday announced a plan to potentially house COVID-19 patients from nursing homes in the region at two long-term care facilities in an effort to try mitigate the spread of the virus. City officials confirmed patients from both locations have already been moved to other facilities in the area to make room for potential patients. The expo hall late last month was prepped as an alternative care center if San Antonio hospitals become full. The Texas Tribune reported Friday that 13% of nursing home facilities in the state have at least one resident with COVID-19. Nursing home with 70+ COVID-19 patients fined $68,000, cited for 28 violations in 2019