- January 20, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
Updated 12:45 p.m. May 8
Grand Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center has agreed to have its residents and staff tested for COVID-19. Bob Snyder, administrator for the Department of Health in Flagler County, told the Palm Coast Observer: "Grand Oaks is now part of the plan. They have agreed. I heard from their chief nursing officer this morning, and she wanted to make it clear to me that they willingly and openly accept our offer to have a strike team of 15 people come in and soon test all the residents and all the staff at Grand Oaks."
Original story, published 5:44 p.m. May 7
With the help of staff, visiting nurses and volunteers, the Department of Health in Flagler County will begin COVID-19 testing on May 8 for every resident and employee at two of the three nursing homes in Flagler County: Market Street Memory Care and Flagler Health and Rehabilitation Center. Grand Oaks Health and Rehabilitation Center, the third nursing home that was invited to participate, declined.
Why did Grand Oaks decline?
“Isn’t that a good question?” said Bob Snyder, DOH-Flagler’s administrator. He declined to elaborate.
Grand Oaks would not comment in response to a call from the Palm Coast Observer. The corporate parent company, Consulate Health Care, replied with this emailed statement: “We thank our local health department for their assistance where COVID-19 testing is concerned, and we are diligently considering all of our options in the best interest of our ongoing commitment to the health and safety of our residents and staff.”
Consulate Health Care declined to elaborate.
The testing at Market Street and Flagler Health and Rehab will be conducted in part by two nursing strike teams of infection prevention specialists assembled from around the United States.
Flagler, so far, has been fortunate not to have any positive cases from any of its 71 residential health care facilities, known as congregate care facilities, Snyder said. Testing at Market Street and Flagler Health and Rehab is being done to stay proactive and make sure there aren’t any asymptomatic cases that could still cause the coronavirus to spread.
"We want to protect our health care workers," Snyder said. "They are the most vulnerable, followed by the people residing in these facilities. Having an outbreak in one of these facilities would be horrendous."
Snyder was complimentary of the congregate care facilities in the community. The DOH-Flagler recently completed an assessment of all 71, and Snyder estimated that 85%-90% are nearly perfect in following CDC guidelines, including wearing masks, face shields, gowns and gloves when interacting with any residents who have been readmitted to the facility after a hospital stay.
The other 10%-15% also had “no major concerns, just opportunities for improvement,” Snyder said.
