Two More Deaths In State Vet Home

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Two more confirmed coronavirus deaths have been recorded at Pennsylvania run nursing homes for veterans and their spouses, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
The two additional deaths come on top of 26 Covid-19 deaths at the Southeast Veterans Center previously reported by the Chester County Coroner's Office.
Joan Nissley, the spokeswoman for the state agency, said that a total of 45 residents of the homes have tested positive, including 17 who have died.
Nissley said that in addition to the new deaths, 36 employees at the six state run veterans homes have tested positive for the virus although 18 of them have recovered and returned to work.
The coroner's death totals are higher than those reported by the state because some of the deaths occurred after the nursing home patients had been transferred to other health care facilities.
The deaths have prompted calls for an investigation from Christina Vanderpol, the county coroner and state Sen Katie Muth.
State Auditor General Eugene Depasquale has called on the state agency to release more details on the deaths.
The deaths at a Pennsylvania veterans facility come as deadly outbreaks from the coronavirus have been reported in veterans nursing homes in several other states. In Massachusetts a state run veterans home in Holyoke has had 68 Covid-19 deaths. An additional 82 residents have tested positive for the virus.
Other state run veterans home hit hard by the virus include New Jersey, Washington state and Alabama.
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State Hospital Patients Isolated

By Walter F. Roche Jr.
Twenty-one patients at the Norristown State Hospital who have tested positive for the coronavirus have been placed in isolation units, according to a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania agency that oversees the state hospital system.
Erin James, the spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said the isolated patients at the state psychiatric facility are provided with "medical care that supports their recovery."
She said that if necessary the ailing patients are subsequently transferred to an area general hospital for more intensive treatment.
The spokeswoman said hospital personnel caring for the infected patients are provided with personal protective gear as recommended by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the state Health Department.
The state reported this week that 21 Norristown patients and 67 hospital employees have tested positive for the deadly virus. The number of infected patients jumped by two over the past 24 hours. The facility has 343 patients and 776 employees.
Several employees at the facility have complained about the lack of protection from the disease and the failure of the facility leaders to provide adequate and up to date information on the pandemic's impact at the Montgomery County facility.
Meanwhile officials of the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs reported no new Covid-19 deaths at the six veterans nursing homes run by the agency. However two more staffers have tested positive, pushing the total to 29.
One additional resident at the homes also tested positive pushing the total to 22. Most of the resident victims reside at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Montgomery County. Most of the deaths in the state veterans centers occurred at that same facility.
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Covid-19 At PA State Hospitals

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Nineteen patients and 67 staffers at the Norristown State Hospital have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to data from the state Department of Human Services.
The facility, located in Montgomery County west of Philadelphia, is one of three state hospitals with COVID-19 cases.
The disclosure comes amid growing protests by the employees of Norristown facilities about the failure to protect employees and advise them of infection risks.
According to the report, 19 patients out of the 341 at the facility and 67 employees out of 776 have tested positive. The hospital serves as a long term psychiatric treatment facility.
At the Wernersville State Hospital in Berks County seven of the 262 current patients have tested positive, while 13 of the 580 employees have tested positive to the coronavirus. At Torrance State Hospital in Westmoreland County one staffer has tested positive, according to DHS data.
The agency reported that at other facilities under its supervision, including the division of youth services, no positive COVID-19 test results have been recorded.
A DHS spokeswoman said the agency has yet to compile the infection data at human services providers under contract with the state.
Meanwhile the death toll inched upward at six state veterans homes in Pennsylvania. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs said two additional deaths pushed the total to 14. Most of those deaths occurred at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Chester County.
She said 27 staffers have tested positive as have 21 residents.
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Death Toll Grows at Vets Homes

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Additional deaths and infections from the coronavirus have turned up in state institutions for elderly veterans and those with disabilities.
In Pennsylvania a total of 12 deaths have now been recorded in state run nursing homes serving veterans.
According to Joan Nissley, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, the death toll jumped from nine late last week to 12 today. At least 10 of the deaths occurred at the Southeastern Veterans Center, a 238 bed nursing home in suburban Chester County.
Some 34 Pennsylvania National Guardsmen have been assigned to provide assistance at the facility.
The agency oversees five other veterans homes from Erie to Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.
Nissley also reported that 25 staffers have now tested positive for the Covoid-19 virus throughout the system. That's up from 23 late last week.
A total of 19 patients have tested positive up from 16 last week.
In Tennessee the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities reported one death and 13 active Covid-19 cases among those placed in public and private facilties.
Multiple deaths among patients in state run veterans facilities have been reported in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon and Alabama.
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National Guard at PA Vets Home

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Some 34 National Guardsmen are on duty assisting staff at a Pennsylvania run nursing home for veterans, where multiple deaths from the coronavirus have been recorded.
Joan Nissley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said some of the guardsmen were working as certified nursing assistants, while others were providing housekeeping and recreational services.
Nissley also said that the official death toll at the facility in Chester County remained at nine, despite reports that a tenth resident had died.
The Southeastern Veterans Center is one of six veterans homes run by the state agency providing care to some 1,300 veterans and their wives. She said that system-wide, 23 employees have tested positive for COVID-19, along with 16 residents.
All six are licensed as nursing homes and undergo regular inspections by surveyors from the state Department of Health. In the most recent inspections, no deficiencies were reported at the Chester County home, but in a report last Fall the facility was cited for failing to provide adequate care to a patient suffering from severe bed sores.
The patient, according to the report, had to be hospitalized and underwent surgery.
Nissley noted that her agency also houses the Pennsylvania National Guard and guardsmen have provided assistance at the veterans homes in the past.
"We are fortunate to once again use the unique skill sets of our Guard members to alleviate some of the intense demands on the homes’ staff during the COVID-19 pandemic," Nissley said.
Noting that residents in the state homes are elderly and many suffer from multiple ailments "which make them particularly susceptible to coronavirus."
"We continue to be vigilant in our infection prevention and control plans and remain dedicated in doing everything we can to stop the spread of this virus," Nissley concluded.
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Ten from PA Vet Home Die

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Ten residents at a Pennsylvania veterans home have died from Covid-19, according to officials of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Records show all 10 died at the Southeastern Veterans Center in Chester County.
The deaths occurred despite renewed and updated efforts at infection control at the six facilities which stretch from Erie to Chester County.
Previously the state agency had reported five residents and one employee had tested positive for the virus at the facility. They also reported an employee at a sister facility in Pittsburgh, the Southwestern Veterans Center, had tested positive for the coronovirus.
In addition, according to agency spokeswoman Joan Nissley, systemwide, 16 residents and 22 staffers at the facilities have tested positive for the virus.
Other states have reported much higher numbers of deaths and infections in similar veteran facilities. Massachusetts has reported that 44 died at a single facility in Holyoke.
"When the concerns over COVID-19 first surfaced, staff at our six veterans’ homes reviewed and updated infection prevention and control plans in preparation for a possible outbreak, " Nissley said in an email response to questions.
She said the agency also implemented heightened safety measures including restricting visitors, cancelling outings, discontinuing group activities, ceasing the use of volunteers, conducting daily health screenings for employees, and putting new admissions on hold.
"Our highest priority is the health and safety of our staff and the residents we serve," Nissley said.

FDA Moves to Ease Covid-19 Drug Shortages

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an emergency advisory indicating it will, in effect, temporarily ease requirements for drug compounding firms to produce drugs being used to treat victims of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a 16-page document, known technically as a "guidance," the FDA said it does not intend to enforce restrictions that currently bar drug compounders from producing drugs that are not on an official drug shortage list.
Citing complaints from hospitals and other providers that drugs needed to treat Covid-19 patients are not available, the guidance states that it does not intend to enforce the existing restrictions for some 13 drug products including midazolam, fentanyl citrate, lorazepam and verconium bromide.
"In light of the unprecedented disruption to, and demands on the global pharmaceutical supply chain as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, additional flexibility is needed to ensure that treatment options are available when hospitals are unable to obtain FDA approved drugs," the guidance states.
The guidance applies to a new class of drug makers known as outsourcers created in legislation passed by Congress in response to the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
Citing the ongoing health emergency, the FDA said it was issuing the new guidance without first seeking public comment, which is the normal process.
Stating the the drugs in question were needed to in-tubate hospitalized Covid-19 patients, the guidance states that the relaxed enforcement policy will only remain in effect during the current public health emergency.
The guidance does set some minimum requirements drug compounders must meet in producing the Covid-19 drugs relating to beyond use dates and stability testing.
The drugs also must be provided directly to a hospital.
Ironically some of the drugs now on short supply for Covid-19 patients are also used by states like Tennessee in the execution of prisoners on death row. Those include midazolam and vercuronium bromide.
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