Atterdag Village succeeded in stopping COVID-19 at the door, literally. An employee who arrived to work last week showed no symptoms of coronavirus, but the screening all staff go through before entering the premises — home to 160 residents — showed the assisted-care worker had a slightly elevated temperature. She was sent home and later tested positive for the virus. So far, no other staff or residents have had symptoms or tested positive, said Debbie Knight, Atterdag’s director of marketing.
The Solvang retirement community is among seven in Santa Barbara County of which an employee or resident has tested positive for COVID-19. Goleta’s Maravilla, a sprawling facility that covers 20 acres, wasn’t so lucky, as a resident on hospice was reportedly infected by a caregiver, who worked for a third-party hospice provider. The positive test came back after he died, however, and his doctor attributed his death to non-COVID reasons reasons, though the Public Health Department has listed it as the third COVID-related death in the county.
Like prisons, the group-care nature of nursing homes makes their residents dependent on employees for meals, housekeeping, activities, and, in the case of hospice, essential personal care. Each facility where a staff member responded to reporters᾿ calls had increased worker scrutiny and education, most had asked visitors to stay away, and all were clothing employees in masks and gowns when they had close contact with residents, as during hospice or skilled-nursing care.