BUCYRUS — A long-term healthcare facility in Crawford County has confirmed a case of COVID-19 coronavirus.
The administration of Altercare in Bucyrus has confirmed a resident and staff member have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
According to the statement from the nursing facility located at 1929 Whetstone St., in Bucyrus, the individuals who have tested positive currently are not at the facility and are under the observation of a personal physician.
“Our thoughts and well wishes are with the staff member, resident and their family during this time. We are working as quickly as possible to identify all residents and team members who may have had direct contact with this person during the past two weeks,” said Kayla Maurer, Director of Communications at Altercare Integrated Health Services.
She said the facility has contacted the local health departments and will be cooperating with them as they track this situation.
In a statement Friday evening, Crawford County Public Health Director Kate Siefert said her department is aware of a long-term care facility having a case.
“We are working with that facility to make sure they have the proper resources to contain the spread,” Siefert said. “We know this is a vulnerable population and the orders set by the governor that limited guests was a measure to try and stop it from getting into the facility.”
She said the Ohio Department of Health is collecting data on nursing homes and the information can be found on the coronavirus.ohio.gov website.
“The facility will be the entity that contacts family members of those that are in their care,” Siefert said.
Maurer said Altercare of Bucyrus remains open, and will continue a strict no visitor policy, extensive daily health screenings of residents and staff and appropriate isolation protocols as informed from governing agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and health departments.
“The safety and wellbeing of our patients, residents and employees remain our top priority during this time,” Maurer said.