Southwestern Illinois nursing homes, care centers add 341 new COVID cases in one week

Last week, 341 people who live or work in local nursing homes or other long-term care facilities contracted the new coronavirus, according to health officials.

Long-term care residents are among the most vulnerable to severe illness or death from the virus, which causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease.

As of Friday, state and local health officials had recorded a total of 2,951 cases of COVID-19 and 330 deaths from the disease that have been tied to long-term care centers in the metro-east since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The region includes St. Clair, Madison, Clinton, Monroe, Bond, Randolph and Washington counties.

Of the 341 people to contract the virus between Nov. 7-13, 162 of them were from Madison County, 98 were from Clinton County, 44 were from St. Clair County, 26 were from Randolph County and 11 were from Monroe County. Nov. 13 is the latest date numbers for the entire region are available.

‘We are seeing an exponential burst of COVID cases’

Madison County Health Department Director Toni Corona said Tuesday that the uptick in cases of COVID-19 inside long-term care facilities is reflective of an uptick in the larger communities.

“We are seeing an exponential burst of COVID cases. Period,” Corona said. “... This is all very much predictable in what happens, and the best mitigation strategy we have right now is limiting where we are as individuals.”

That means avoiding social gatherings and cutting down on travel except for essential trips like those to the grocery store or pharmacy, according to Corona.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced statewide restrictions on Tuesday that could affect gatherings planned for Thanksgiving.

Under the new rules that go into effect Nov. 20, gatherings inside a home should be limited to the people who live there.

The rules also impose a 25% capacity limit at retail stores and close down movie theaters and casinos.

Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of long-term care industry organizations American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, is also urging people to follow safety guidelines in their communities to help facilities that are seeing record numbers of COVID-19 cases this month.

“If everybody would wear a mask and social distance to reduce the level of COVID in the community, we know we would dramatically reduce these rates in long-term care facilities,” Parkinson said in a statement Tuesday.

University of Chicago health research Tamara Konetzka agrees. She told The Associated Press that trying to protect nursing home residents without controlling community spread is “a losing battle.”

“Someone has to care for vulnerable nursing home residents, and those caregivers move in and out of the nursing home daily, providing an easy pathway for the virus to enter,” said Konetzka, a nationally recognized expert on long-term care, according to AP.

In addition to nursing home workers, Corona said practitioners also visit nursing homes, and residents might leave a facility to go to a hospital where they could become exposed to the virus.

Parkinson said facilities are “powerless” to fully prevent the virus from entering because people can be infected without showing symptoms. The virus can spread when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks or breathes, especially within about 6 feet of others, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

One tool facilities have is frequent testing for the coronavirus, which regulatory agencies have required. Corona said the level of community spread determines how often they test their residents and employees for COVID-19.

Locally, facilities are conducting testing twice a week now, according to Corona.

Southwestern Illinois coronavirus outbreak statistics

The Illinois Department of Public Health’s updates on long-term care facility outbreaks in every county come once a week — on Fridays — at dph.illinois.gov/covid19/long-term-care-facility-outbreaks-covid-19.

The information for Nov. 13 was delayed by at least two days due to a typo that occurred when employees were updating the link, the Department of Public Health said in an email to the Belleville News-Democrat.

The St. Clair County Health Department also makes announcements about numbers from its long-term care centers. It provides daily updates on the outbreaks and other developments in the county on the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency’s Facebook page.

The state and local agency say they include residents and employees of the facilities in their numbers. Locations with fewer than two cases of the virus are not reported.

Madison County stopped providing updates on long-term care centers on Nov. 6 because that information is available on the state’s website, according to Madison County Health Department Director Toni Corona.

Here is the latest information from health officials on the total number of people who have been infected with the coronavirus at each facility since the start of the pandemic:

MADISON COUNTY

Total: 1,133 people infected and 121 deaths as of Friday, an increase of 162 new infections and nine deaths since Nov. 6. Long-term care facility residents and staff accounted for 12% of the infections countywide and 70% of the deaths.

• University Care Center — 122 people, including six deaths (40 new infections and four deaths announced since Nov. 6.)
• 109-bed facility Stearns Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Granite City — 111 people, including 20 deaths
• 120-bed facility Edwardsville Care Center — 106 people, including 22 deaths
• 70-bed facility Meridian Village — 89 people, including five deaths
• Beverly Farm in Godfrey — 85 people, including one death
• 128-bed facility Eden Village Care Center in Glen Carbon — 84 people, including 21 deaths (Five new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 68-bed facility Integrity of Godfrey — 72 people, including eight deaths (12 new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 180-bed facility Riverside Rehab and Healthcare — 71 people, including 17 deaths
• 64-bed facility Alton Memorial Rehab and Therapy — 63 people, including 14 deaths (Three deaths announced since Nov. 6.)
• Alton Mental Health Center — 61 people, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services (Four new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 86-bed facility Granite City Nursing and Rehab — 56 people, including three deaths (53 new infections and two deaths announced since Nov. 6.)
• Liberty Village — 52 people (14 new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• Hitz Memorial Home in Alhambra — 31 people (27 new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• Cedarhurst of Collinsville — 15 people, including one death
• 104-bed facility Elmwood Nursing and Rehab in Maryville — 13 people
• Evergreen Place in Alton — 12 people, including one death
• Cedarhurst of Bethalto — 11 people
• 116-bed facility Care Center at Center Grove in Edwardsville — 10 people
• Cedarhurst of Highland — 10 people. The staff and residents who tested positive have since tested negative, according to the facility.
• Cedarhurst of Godfrey — 10 people
• Villas of Holly Brook in Bethalto — eight people (Two new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 181-bed facility Integrity Healthcare of Alton — seven people (One new infection announced since Nov. 6.)
• 94-bed facility Collinsville Rehabilitation and Healthcare — six people, including two deaths
• Alhambra Rehab and Healthcare — six people
• Eden Village Retirement Community — five people (One new infection announced since Nov. 6.)
• Cambridge House of Maryville — five people
• Cedarhurst of Granite City — three people (Newly reported Friday.)
• Faith Countryside — three people
• Faith Countryside Homes Assisted Living — two people
• Cedarhurst of Edwardsville — two people
• Highland Healthcare — two people

ST. CLAIR COUNTY

Total: 1,056 people infected and 131 deaths as of Friday, an increase of 44 new infections and one death since Nov. 6. Long-term care facility residents and staff accounted for 9% of the infections countywide and 57% of the deaths.

• 156-bed facility Four Fountains in Belleville — 117 people infected, including 29 deaths (Outbreak first reported April 19.)
• 116-bed facility Cedar Ridge of Lebanon — 84 people, including 16 deaths (First reported May 27. Four new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 90-bed facility Lebanon Care Center — 80 people, including 12 deaths (First reported April 24. Two new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 140-bed facility BRIA of Belleville — 71 people, including eight deaths (First reported April 19.)
• The Esquiline at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, including the Dammert and St. Francis centers — 64 people, including 10 deaths (First reported June 23. Three new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 108-bed facility St. Paul’s Home in Belleville — 62 people, including 15 deaths (First reported April 24. Two new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 101-bed facility Integrity Healthcare of Smithton — 61 people, including 10 deaths (First reported Sept. 2. One new infection announced since Nov. 6.)
• 53-bed facility New Athens Home for the Aged — 57 people, including nine deaths (First reported May 19.)
• 82-bed facility Memorial Care Center in Belleville — 50 people, including five deaths (First reported April 19.)
• 94-bed facility Swansea Rehab and Care Center — 44 people, including eight deaths (First reported May 12.)
• 133-bed facility BRIA of Cahokia — 44 people, including three deaths, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (First reported May 2.)
• Caritas Family Solutions in Belleville region — 43 people (First reported May 4.)
• Caseyville Nursing and Rehab — 42 people, including two deaths (First reported May 28. Seven new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 150-bed facility Autumn Meadows in Cahokia — 26 people, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (First reported June 26.)
• 76-bed facility Mar-Ka Nursing and Rehab — 24 people (First reported Nov. 1. 16 new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 120-bed facility Mercy Rehab and Care Center in Swansea — 24 people (First reported June 17. Two new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• Brightly Senior Living — 20 people, including one death (First reported Oct. 16. One death announced since Nov. 6.)
• 16-bed facility Freeburg Terrace — 20 people, according to the facility (First reported Aug. 24.) Freeburg Terrace executive director Jim Haney said 13 residents and seven employees tested positive for COVID-19.
• Cedarhurst of Shiloh — 17 people (First reported May 24. One new infection announced since Nov. 6.)
• 118-bed facility Freeburg Care Center — 12 people (First reported Aug. 9. Two new infections announced since Nov. 6.) Freeburg Care Center administrator Amy Bonta said everyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 is an employee.
• Bradford Place in Swansea — 11 people (First reported July 14.)
• 180-bed facility Integrity Healthcare in Belleville — 11 people (First reported July 1. One new infection announced since Nov. 6.)
• Cambridge House in O’Fallon — nine people (First reported Aug. 13. Three new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• Knollwood Retirement Center in Caseyville — nine people, including one death (First reported May 14.)
• Parkway Gardens in Fairview Heights — eight people, including one death (First reported Aug. 11.)
• TDL Inc. in Belleville — eight people (First reported May 6.)
• 55-bed facility Aperion Care Center in Mascoutah — seven people (First reported Sept. 4.)
• Help at Home in Belleville — six people, including one death (First reported May 23.)
• Colonnade Senior Living in O’Fallon — six people (First reported April 19.)
• Sycamore Village — five people (First reported Nov. 3.)
• Help at Home in O’Fallon — five people (First reported May 4.)
• 30-bed facility St. John Bosco Children’s Center — three people (First reported July 16.)
• Adaptive Illinois in Belleville — two people (First reported July 5.)
• Cedars of Lebanon — two people (First reported June 23.)
• Atrium of Belleville — two people (First reported June 8.) Roberto Roma, the Atrium of Belleville’s executive director, said previously that the two people affected were an employee who quarantined and a resident who moved out of the facility in March.

The Belleville News-Democrat has updated the listing to clarify the location of one outbreak. Barb Hohlt, executive director of the St. Clair County Health Department, said Tuesday that numbers from the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows include both the Dammert Care Center and the St. Francis Center for Assisted Living, which the Illinois Department of Public Health reports separately. Both centers are part of the senior community at the Shrine called the Esquiline.

CLINTON COUNTY

Total: 412 people infected and 34 deaths as of Friday, an increase of 98 new infections and five deaths since Nov. 6. Long-term care facility residents and staff accounted for 17% of the infections countywide and 77% of the deaths.

• 109-bed facility Carlyle HealthCare Center — 114 people, including 16 deaths (12 new infections and one death announced since Nov. 6.)
• Warren G. Murray Developmental Center — 99 people, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services (21 new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• 97-bed facility Aviston Countryside Manor — 55 people, including seven deaths (19 new infections and one death announced since Nov. 6.)
• 112-bed facility Breese Nursing Home — 50 people, including eight deaths (Three new infections and one death announced since Nov. 6.)
• Clinton Manor Living Facility — 50 people, including one death (Six new infections announced since Nov. 6.)
• Trenton Village Retirement — 37 people, including two deaths (Newly reported Friday.)
• Villa Catherine — seven people

MONROE COUNTY

Total: 190 people infected and 34 deaths as of Friday, an increase of 11 new infections and seven deaths since Nov. 6. Long-term care facility residents and staff accounted for 13% of the infections countywide and 83% of the deaths.

• 144-bed facility Oak Hill in Waterloo — 106 people, including 15 deaths (Three new infections and two deaths announced since Nov. 6.)
• Garden Place Columbia — 38 people, including 11 deaths
• 119-bed facility Integrity Healthcare-Columbia Rehab and Care Center — 26 people, including eight deaths (Seven new infections and five deaths announced since Nov. 6.)
• Cedarhurst Senior Living in Waterloo — 20 people (One new infections announced since Nov. 6.)

RANDOLPH COUNTY

WASHINGTON COUNTY

Total: Two people infected and one death as of Friday. Long-term care facility residents and staff accounted for less than 1% of the infections countywide and 50% of the deaths.

• Washington County Hospital, long-term care unit — two people, including one death

State data discrepancies

The Illinois Department of Public Health’s update did not match information from St. Clair County Health Departments for 13 long-term care centers on Friday.

The Department of Public Health said there were more cases or deaths at the locations, including two facilities where St. Clair County had not reported outbreaks as of Friday.

Barb Hohlt, executive director of the St. Clair County Health Department, said Tuesday that the two facilities did not have at least two cases of the virus at the time to meet the definition of an outbreak. The state’s data showed that they did.

The BND has not included numbers announced by the state in calculating totals if a county health department reports lower numbers.

The state relies on health departments for the information it reports and says on its website that the local agencies will have “the most up-to-date data.”

Health departments and individual facilities in the metro-east have previously said the state’s data was off.

The BND uses Illinois Department of Public Health data when local health departments do not provide updates.

Lexi Cortes

Belleville News-Democrat

618-239-2528

The metro-east is home for investigative reporter Lexi Cortes. She was raised in Granite City and Edwardsville and graduated from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2014. Lexi joined the Belleville News-Democrat in 2014 and has won multiple state awards for her investigative and community service reporting. Support my work with a digital subscription