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.

Senator Lois Kolkhorst
(courtesy Office of Lois Kolkhorst)

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”.

What’s your Reaction?
+1
0
+1
0
+1
0

12 Comments

  1. Despite having knowledge that skilled nursing populations are by far the biggest risk of death and spread of COVID-19, the politicians in Texas made little effort to support the industry. That is not new. Texas Medicaid rates, which pay for the care received by the vast majority of residents in these homes, are amongst the lowest in the nation. The rate paid by the state (~$165) is equivalent to night’s stay at a mid level hotel, yet includes housing, laundry, nutritious meals and supplements, activities, and several hours of nursing care daily. The staffs in these homes are dedicated. They care deeply for their residents. After this pandemic passes, and it will, I implore each reader to attend a event at a local home and see what this industry is really about.

    A better course of action for the politicians would have been to address issues like shortages in PPE, testing and staffing early on. Rather, they still ignore the PPE and staffing problems, and send in a “swat” team, which will likely report there is more staffing and PPE needed.

    At least they are addressing the testing issue, at least for today, in this building. Why does it take this kind of situation before the state make testing a priority? To date, the guidance from national authorities, like the CDC has been to only test those with symptoms. It is not too late to trace and isolate, but if testing were widely available, community spread could be contained everywhere, like it was in South Korea.

    There will be several questions remaining:

    What happens if a staff member contracts the virus buying groceries for her family on Monday and asymptomatically spreads the virus in the home next week? Will the testing remain widely available to catch this, or will the swat team come back periodically? Is this just a drive by to appease a few family members?

    Will the state swat team help provide PPE and staffing if found the home comes up short?

    If the home has done everything right, will that be reported by the swat team and and news sources?

    Most importantly, will the Senator remember this situation after we get through this pandemic and work with the industry to support our vulnerable seniors long term, and not just during this crisis.

    1. Thank God for Senator Kolkhorst and I am glad for action at this point instead of talking and stats. You can go into the political points during the next election but for now let’s appreciate any leaders who are in the arena and trying to help people. That is the role of government, in a time of disaster to help those in need and encourage self reliance and independence once the disaster is over. I know several families with grandparents in this facility and they are all very thankful that there was someone willing to push for action and answers locally instead of saying it’s somebody else’s jurisdiction or problem to solve. The entire county statistics on COVID 19 are high only because of this one place and the people deserve answers and action so I am all for whatever can be done by Kolkhorst or any other politician willing to step up!

    2. The nursing home was offered PPE from the very first case and they refused stating they had enough! They didn’t take any until kolkhorst urged them to. Yet their staff was online complaining about not having enough PPE. So who do we not trust? Whose word do you take? There are a lot of nursing homes with confirmed cases but an out of control situation like what is going on here is thankfully not the norm, but what that tells me and others is BNRC screwed up and they made every attempt to keep it as quite as possible! Was it a lack of PPE? Poor infection control? Lack of education? Who knows but I hope it all comes out in the end.

      If the staff was truly working without the proper PPE and being told to refuse help with it or to not say anything then they should have come forward a lot sooner than they did! They chose to protect their jobs instead of advocating for their patients and keeping them safe! Some of them choose to continue working 2 jobs at different facilities. The moment that the first positive case was discovered there every staff member should have been isolated at home between shifts! They should have been self isolating like any other citizen was told to do if there was a possibility they were exposed! They should have known there a probability they could be infected! But they chose to go to the grocery store, clothes shopping, friends homes, and even buy new vehicles!

      I pray that they can get the facility in order and keep from losing more patients! I understand they are overworked, tired, depressed, and defeated. But blaming the state for what is going on inside there is beyond ridiculous! The job of the staff at that nursing home is to care for those people and to stand up for them when they can’t do it! If they had done that who knows how many people wouldn’t be dying, how many wouldn’t be sick, and how many families wouldn’t be hurting because they can’t be with their loved ones!

      1. I can assure you, no one, takes on TWO jobs because they want to. If you truly knew what the employees made per hour, you would wonder how they had been able to support families and maintain their homes and do all the things that every responsible adult WANTS to do. I am very tired of hearing these dedicated employees raked over the coals for something they had no control over. Does anyone, truly think, that a CNA has any control over what an owner and/or management company does or doesn’t do? I can assure you, by the very issue that they are only speaking out on condition of anonymity, (and only 2! at that) they had fears of retaliation such as being terminated, hours cut or any other method at higher ups disposal. And that goes up higher than the charge nurse level or even management nursing. Think about what you’re saying and quit blaming the very ones that are doing all in their power that they can. When all is said and done, nursing staff and CNA’s WERE the ones that stayed and did the best that they could. They didn’t play find me when it started getting tough.

  2. It’s already spreading in the community. Washington County needs to enforce a stay at home order and all residents need to wear masks in public. There are asymptomatic carriers and we all need to work together to stop the spread.

    1. Washington County Medical Director Dr. William Loesch released a statement late Friday that said community spread is slowing. That’s great news!

      1. And I might add at this date , Thursday, that there was only 1 case newly diagnosed, that was not in the nursing home. My prayers and thoughts are with the nursing staff, CNAs and licensed personnel and residents of BNRC.. I hope that this nightmare is soon over for you all and your families, all of your families..

  3. I was never notified of the situation at Brenham Nursing Home…I found out about it on Facebook. My relative has been in ICU since yesterday and our family have no clue if he’ll recover. And if he does, where will he go? What about is personal belongings? I feel it’s the nursing home responsibility to make contact with victims’ family. I cannot believe this went on for so long and officials, if they knew about it didn’t contact family. This is unbelievable and unacceptable!

  4. And still the facility has yet to reach out and tell family that this situation is going on. No communication whatsoever.

    1. We weren’t notified until we attempted to contact them several times. When they contacted us they stated it was a miss communication. They continue to drop the ball and it’s sickening!

      1. It truly was difficult my grandfather, died yesterday while in their care. My father, is still there, seeking transfer, ASAP.

Back to top button