SEN. KOLKHORST SECURES STATE SUPPORT FOR BRENHAM NURSING AND REHAB

  

State Senator Lois Kolkhorst has requested assistance from the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to review and manage the ongoing health threats at the Brenham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Kolkhorst said that since being made aware of the conditions at the center from family members earlier this week, she fears the level of infection in the facility is not only a serious risk for residents and staff, but also represents a growing percentage of the total cases for Washington County.  She said this situation could be “a significant driver of community spread if tougher measures are not taken”.  She said she has been on dozens of high-level calls over the past several days because she has been “alarmed at the lack of progress”.

Kolkhorst said she personally contacted TDEM Chief Nim Kidd Friday, who at her request is deploying two Texas Rapid Assessment Quick Response Force teams to the Brenham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.  She also confirmed that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) are deploying a SWAT team Saturday with ten members, including an epidemiologist and several specialized nurses.  In addition, she has asked DSHS to have a contact trace team to be deployed to Brenham to ensure that community spread is not occurring.

Kolkhorst said that, while new cases of COVID-19 are leveling off and decreasing across Texas, now is the time to enhance the state's focus on high risk populations such as at the Brenham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where the facility has struggled to contain the spread of infection.

Kolkhorst thanked the local healthcare workers in the facility for “risking their lives to serve this vulnerable population”.  However, she stressed that anyone working at the center should not work at another facility or circulate in the community, as asymptomatic infected workers could rapidly spread the virus.

Kolkhorst also thanked Dr. William Loesch, Dr. Frank Leal, Washington County EMS Director Kevin Deramus, and Family Nurse Practitioner Aubrey Eikenhorst for keeping her informed on the severity of the situation, as well as the constituents in the area who have loved ones in the facility.

Kolkhorst said, by the end of Friday, there would be two teams deployed from TDEM, along with another strike team Saturday from DSHS and HHSC to “administer and monitor additional tests and protocol to get this situation under control”.  She said “we need to work fast and we need to work smart”.