Providence Mount St. Vincent reports new COVID-19 outbreak, with another death

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

(WSB file photo)]

Providence Mount St. Vincent is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, with one life lost. Here’s the announcement we received tonight:

Thank you to our West Seattle friends, neighbors and family members for continuing to express care and concern for the residents, patients and caregivers at The Mount. We remain humbled by the outpouring of love and support we have received.

Following nearly 6 months with no positive cases among the residents of Providence Mount St. Vincent, we now have 10 residents/patients who tested positive and 9 caregivers who tested positive. This increase is unfortunately consistent with the surge in positive cases throughout our region, our state and our country.

We have been testing caregivers weekly for many months and target-testing residents and patients. We believe a caregiver became sick between their weekly tests and unknowingly spread the virus in primarily one localized area of the building.

Affected caregivers are quarantining at home and will be cleared to return to work through Providence Caregiver Health. We are deeply saddened that one resident/patient who tested positive has died due to complications of COVID-19 while also facing other compromising health issues. Our hearts go out to the family and the caregivers of this beloved member of The Mount community.

The safety and well-being of our residents, patients, their families and our caregivers remains our highest priority. While the virus is surging throughout the broader community, we are employing every possible method to contain further spread. Our highly-trained caregivers are continuing to follow all infection control protocols, including the use of appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE), in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local King County Department of Health and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines, while providing our residents/patients expert and compassionate care.

We continue daily monitoring of all residents, patients, and caregivers for any signs of illness, especially a fever or cough. We remain closed to visitors, with the exception of end-of-life visits which are accommodated on a person-by-person basis. Window and video visits remain open for scheduling. Outdoor visits are temporarily on hold.

We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as the CDC, to ensure we continue delivering safe, high quality care for all residents and patients. We have notified the families of all residents and patients, and the Intergenerational Learning Center families, about the situation and will continue to share updates with the community as needed.

As of last week’s weekly King County long-term-care status update – before this announcement – The Mount had lost seven people.

Diane November 18, 2020 (8:18 pm)

very sad to hear this, and worried about my friend who lives there; thanks for the info

TM November 18, 2020 (9:33 pm)

I’m sorry to hear this. It’s been a hard year there, hoping for the best.

Anwren November 18, 2020 (9:49 pm)

This is very sad news. Appreciate the transparency and the focused testing to keep all residents safe at The Mount.

Paula McBrady November 18, 2020 (11:24 pm)

Despite the outbreak of Covid-19 at the Mount, including our Mother being one of the cases, our family can’t think of a better place to have our Mom. We know that they are committed to her care and making sure she is cautiously and closely observed. We THANK all of the nurses and staff at the Mount. This is an at risk population and we are very sorry for the loss of one of the Residents. We extend our Sympathy to their family.

JJ November 19, 2020 (5:29 am)

Your heroic efforts and the mercy of God contained the outbreak last time. 7 deaths are tragic but it could have been so much worse. No nursing facility is designed to contain an airborne pathogen, but you have proven that frequent testing and isolating the virus as best you can- those efforts are sometimes good enough. I will pray for the success of your efforts this time again. I will pray for Gods mercy and protection for your staff and all your residents, and their families, and communities.

Kerry November 20, 2020 (2:35 pm)

The Mount is a special place in our community–and the very best neighbors. I wish your caregivers and patients only the best of health and the quickest of recoveries.