Ten residents of a rural Kansas nursing home have died after Covid-19 infected all 62 residents of the home, according to a news release from the Norton County Health Department. Andbe Home, a privately owned nursing home located in Norton, Kansas, located about five hours west of Kansas City, is home to the latest mass casualty nursing home infection of the virus.
The county health department says that the nursing home is taking steps to prevent further outbreak, and is now quarantining residents to their rooms and disallowing visitors. Staff members, some of whom have tested positive for the virus, will continue to be tested. One resident remains hospitalized, while the remainder of the residents are being treated at the home.
Rural areas in the Midwest are now being hit particularly hard, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People in many rural areas have not complied well with voluntary mask mandates or social distancing suggestions. Infection rates have been rising dramatically as the virus makes its way to these communities.
Across the country, according to the CDC’s Covid-19 Nursing Home Data Report issued weekly, approximately 253,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed among nursing home residents. Of those, there have been 59,600 deaths among residents, and additional infections and deaths among staff members.
Previously, the majority of nursing homes that were infected with the virus were located in larger cities. That trend is changing, however, as Covid-19 makes its way through small towns and rural areas.
Added to the toll of Covid-19’s impact on nursing homes is a marked increase in the number of serious bedsores, injuries, and other results of neglect that residents endure. Staffing shortages and lack of accountability due to family members’ inability to visit has led to considerable suffering, and even death, within nursing homes across the country.
OnderLaw is doing our part by representing victims of nursing home abuse and neglect. If your family member sustained serious injuries, including Stage 3 or worse bedsores, catastrophic fall injuries, or other significant injuries, call the attorneys at OnderLaw for a free, no-obligation consultation. We don’t get paid unless you win your case.
