April 27, 2020 NEWS RELEASE: Skilled Nursing Facility COVID-19 Outbreaks Now Include Linwood Meadows
April 27, 2020
The Tulare County Public Health Branch has announced that the Linwood Meadows facility in Visalia has had 10 residents test positive for COVID-19. Tulare County Public Health is working alongside the facility and the State to ensure the facility is following proper PPE and care guidelines and has appropriate PPE and collection kits to expand testing for employees and other residents who are identified for testing needs.
“As public health professionals, we are concerned about these outbreaks, and we are working with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Licensing and Certification Program to implement all necessary safeguards at the facility,” stated Tulare County Public Health Director Karen Elliott.
Visalia’s Redwood Springs facility, which, like Linwood Meadows, is owned by the Plum Corporation, currently has 114 residents who have COVID-19, in addition to 60 staff members and eight related individuals (such as family members who came to visit or family of staff). Local hospital staff and a Cal-MAT team are onsite to assist, and HHSA clinical liaisons remain in contact with the facility to provide guidance.
Lindsay Gardens, another Visalia skilled nursing facility with an outbreak, currently has 38 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 14 staff and six others. The facility also has the assistance of a Cal-MAT team and other outside staff.
For more information about COVID-19, visit www.tchhsa.org/ncov, https://www.facebook.com/TulareCountyHHSA/, and https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/ncov2019.aspx
