Coronavirus in Ohio nursing homes: Patients, employees at Jackson Township facility test positive

JACKSON TWP. Patients and employees at Jackson Ridge Rehabilitation & Care Center have tested positive for COVID-19, the management company for the center confirmed, making it at least the second senior care facility in Stark County with multiple coronavirus cases.

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However, the company, Providence Healthcare Management, based in the Cleveland area, declined to identify how many people have tested positive, citing medical privacy laws.

"We are determined to remain transparent in updating our residents and families and the local community in this evolving health crisis," a representative wrote in a statement issued by Providence Healthcare. "All resident families have been notified, and we are giving families updates in a timely manner as more information becomes available."

Nursing homes have been on heightened alert since the coronavirus outbreak began earlier this year and Ohio's elderly population have been among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus.

The virus has been harder on older patients with underlying medical conditions. Last week, patients at an Altercare facility in Lexington Township began dying because of coronavirus. So far eight residents at the facility have died and account for nearly half of Stark County's 17 coronavirus fatalities.

More than 40 nursing home deaths across Ohio have been linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Outbreaks near Dayton and Youngstown have led to more than two dozen deaths at nursing homes. The median age of the 324 report Ohio deaths is 79. People over 70 years old account for 73% of the state's COVID-19 deaths.

Jackson Ridge, at 7705 High Mill Ave. NW., and Glenwood Care & Rehabilitation Center both are managed by Providence Healthcare. The company has 12 other facilities around Ohio.

Providence Healthcare said it issued "no visitor" orders for its facilities on March 11, prior to state officials ordering Ohio nursing homes to stop accepting visitors.

"From the onset of this pandemic we have been committed to stopping the spread of the virus within the nursing home," the statement read, adding that Jackson Ridge "remains vigilant in its preventative measures." The company said it is grateful to the guidance provided by local and state healthcare agencies, including the Stark County Health Department.

According to the statement, Jackson Ridge is using the proper personal protective equipment, isolating positive cases in a quarantined unit, and intensifying best practices for personal hygiene and cleaning.

A designated health care team will be caring for coronavirus patients. Testing will be conducted as recommended by physicians and the health department, the statement said.

Ohio's elderly population are overrepresented in the un-hospitalized death count. Of the more than 200 patients over age 70 who have died of COVID-19, 76% were reportedly not hospitalized.

From Akron and Canton north to Cleveland and east to Youngstown and Warren, the region is also amassing a disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths. More than half (53%) of all Ohio deaths have been recorded in 13 local counties where, on the whole, seniors account for a greater share of the overall general population.

But the numbers are still out of whack. Only a third of the state's residents live in Northeast Ohio.

At least two counties are driving up the region's elderly and overall death rates. High-risk patients in the 70-and-older age group account for 73% of deaths statewide but as much as 83% in Mahoning and 90% in Portage, where health officials have reported cases in nursing homes.

The higher mortality rate, in part, can be attributed to one of the most quickly aging corners of a state that already skews older than the national average.

Mahoning County has the Ohio's second-highest portion of residents (3.6%) aged 85 and older. Portage County, at 1.7%, ranked 30th among Ohio's 88 counties. These statewide rankings also held true for the 75 and older population for both Northeast Ohio counties.

Other area counties with above average senior populations include Trumbull, Richland, Geauga, Tuscarawas, Lake, Columbiana, Stark, Cuyahoga and Ashtabula.

Portage County Commissioner Vicki Kline said she is concerned for the county's seniors, and people who live in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

"This is very scary," she said. "I am concerned for our elderly, and concerned about Portage County people."

Among Ohio's most populous counties, for which disability data is surveyed by the U.S. Census Bureau, Portage ranks high with 15.3% of residents disabled. Other area counties such as Tuscarawas also rank high but have yet to report a single COVID-19 related death.

Despite having high per capita COVID-19 deaths rates, Portage and Mahoning counties ranked in the better half of Ohio's most populous counties for residents with health insurance.

Statewide criteria calls for prioritizing testing for the sickest patients as well as those that are the most high-risk for complications, including the elderly.

Becky Lehman, public information officer for the Portage County Health District, said tests are being offered primarily to seniors.

"Approximately 58% of our COVID-19 positive cases are our vulnerable population (65 years of age and older). As a result of our testing criteria focusing on 65 years or older, that explains the higher rate of this age being positive for COVID-19," she said.

Lehman said the "strict testing guidance" ensures that people in long-term care facilities, other seniors and health care professionals, are being tested.

"In addition, the majority of persons who have died with COVID-19 had comorbidities," or other chronic health conditions, she added. She did not know how many of those people were residents of the county's 18 long-term care facilities.

Gannett Ohio reporters Diane Smith and Doug Livingston contributed to this report.

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