In France, a nursing home takes on COVID and wins

[canetoad]

Lyon: As the coronavirus scythed through nursing homes, cutting a deadly path, Valerie Martin vowed to herself that the story would be different in the home she runs in France.

The action she took to stop the virus from infecting and killing the vulnerable older adults in her care was both drastic and effective: Martin and her staff locked themselves in with the 106 residents.

For 47 days and nights, staff and residents of the Vilanova nursing home on the outskirts of the east-central city of Lyon waited out the coronavirus storm together, while COVID-19 killed tens of thousands of people in other homes across Europe, including more than 9000 in France.

"I said, 'No. Not mine. My residents still have so much to live for,'" Martin said in an interview. "I don't want this virus to kill them when they have been through so much."

On Monday, Martin and 12 colleagues who stayed in the home for the full duration ended their quarantine with hugs of celebration and singing, and with an uplifting victory: Coronavirus tests conducted on the residents and staff all came back negative.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/in-france-a-nursing-home-takes-on-covid-and-wins-20200505-p54pty.html

[mr_lebowski]

1. Well that's sorta doing the opposite of 'taking on coronavirus', but kudos to them, great story (nt)

[Bayard]

2. That's great news

But it requires people who take their jobs seriously, and actually care about their residents.

[SunSeeker]

3. This is the only way to do it. As long as staff can go home, they can bring Covid-19.

Asymptomatic spread by nursing home staff is what is infecting nursing home patients now. Virtually all nursing homes have banned visitors for over a month now. Yet they're still getting infected because the staff are still going home and out into the community every day.

Sadly, it is a rare nursing home that would do this. As a society, we just don't give a shit about our frail or elderly.

[Rhiannon12866]

4. In my county of New York, 14 have died of coronavirus as of 5/1, 11 of those in nursing homes

And when I listened to the news today, there were 2 more deaths in Albany County, both in nursing homes. This is obviously the only successful blueprint for avoiding coronavirus in these confined places where residents need special care. Kudos to them!

[BComplex]

5. It was either Chris Hayes or Lawrence O'Donnell who had one in Connecticut on tonight that did that.

Very determined nursing home workers! It was awesome. And it is still working.

[Historic NY]

6. Makes a lot of sense staff is not bringing the virus in

unfortunately here staff would complain. If places had setup a sterile disinfecting area where staff had to go before entry it might have helped too.

[mopinko]

7. damn, it's dusty in here all the sudden.

i am truly missing my hospice work. the thought of all those dying alone, w us volunteers locked out is burning a hole in my heart.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Doing it in a couple of British homes too - in one, some staff camping in tents

'We did what we set out to achieve': the staff who moved into care homes

Five weeks ago Kirsty Scott left behind her two young children and moved into Bridgedale House care home in Sheffield, but she’s missing her family more than ever.

“I’ve really missed them … so much,” said Scott, a senior care assistant and mother of eight-year-old Amy and five-year-old Kieran. “I FaceTime them every day, sometimes two or three times a day.”

But with all residents and staff at the specialist dementia facility still Covid-19 free and no deaths reported, she said the sacrifice was worth it. “We did what we set out to achieve and I’m very proud of that.”
...
Most of that original team have since left and been replaced with a new cohort, who all self-isolated at home for two weeks before coming in to ensure they were not carrying the virus.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/28/we-did-what-we-set-out-to-achieve-the-staff-who-moved-into-care-homes

Coronavirus: Isle of Wight care workers live in tents
Staff at a care home have moved into tents to shield vulnerable residents from the coronavirus outbreak.

The Victoria House Care Home in Ryde on the Isle of Wight has taken steps to protect its 20 residents, aged between 82 and 103.

Nine of the 31 staff have left their partners, families and children to isolate at the home, which now has a policy of "no one in and no one out".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-hampshire-52379392/coronavirus-isle-of-wight-care-workers-live-in-tents

[liberalla]

9. That's wonderful! What a wise and caring administrator!