Six residents of a nursing home in Cortez have died because of COVID-19, and seven people have tested positive at a nursing home in Mancos, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Vista Mesa Assisted Living at 1206 N. Mildred Road in Cortez has reported that 28 residents and 11 staff tested positive for the disease and six people died because of the virus.
The outbreak at Vista Mesa was resolved Jan. 4, according to CDPHE, and is no longer on the active outbreak list. It was first reported as an outbreak Nov. 25 with 12 residents and four staff testing positive.
On Jan. 7, the Valley Inn skilled nursing home in Mancos was determined to be an outbreak site by CDPHE. Three residents and four staff tested positive.
Valley Inn is managed by C&G Health Care Management, based in Cortez.
C&G President and CEO Joyce Humiston said the four staff have fully recovered. The three infected residents are recovering and are being cared for in isolation areas.
“They are doing well, and their cases are asymptomatic,” Humiston said. “We have strong testing program, and it shows there are no other cases. We will continue to retest.”
The facility’s infection control program includes testing residents every other day, which is more often than the state requirement, Humiston said. She said 56 of the 58 residents have received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Humiston said C&G hired a private lab for the COVID-19 testing at its facilities in order to get results back within 24 hours. The Valley Inn has 100 staff, and they are tested three times per week and monitored for symptoms.
Disinfection foggers are being used twice daily as part of the infection control procedures at Valley Inn, Humiston said. They are used in high-touch areas, medical rooms and on medical equipment. Visitation is also strictly controlled.
C&G Health Care Management operates six long-term care facilities in Colorado, plus one in New Mexico and one in Arizona, according to its website.
Valley Inn is the third nursing home in Montezuma County with a COVID-19 outbreak.
On Dec. 11, 10 residents of the BeeHive Homes at the Cortez Homestead had tested positive for the disease, according to CDPHE. Eleven staff also tested positive, and one resident died.
BeeHive is an assisted living facility for Alzheimer and dementia patients. It also offers respite care services for temporary residents.
The county has had 27 outbreaks since the pandemic began. Twenty-one are still active, and six have been resolved.
Outbreaks that have been resolved and the date the outbreak deemed over are: Tiger by the Tail (Jan. 5), Vista Mesa (Jan. 4), Alpacka Raft (Dec. 7), Loungin’ Lizard (Nov. 30), Underwood Optical (Nov. 29) and Curt Mangan Strings (Nov. 2).
CDPHE defines an “outbreak” of COVID-19 as two or more positive tests at a single location within 14 days.
As of Jan. 13, Montezuma County has had 1,430 positive COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started in March, up from 1,292 cases Jan. 6, a 10% increase.
Eleven people have died from the disease. There are 902 active cases, and 510 people have recovered.