Coverage of novel coronavirus is supported by the Mick Hitchcock, Ph.D., Project for Visualizing Science, a science reporting project from the Reynolds School of Journalism.
Lakeside Health and Wellness Suites is a residential nursing care facility in Reno. The state is currently investigating 43 confirmed cases of COVID-19 there. Four residents have died.
KUNR’s Anh Gray talked with Councilwoman Naomi Duerr about the situation. She recently read a Reno Gazette-Journal report which mentioned that the facility did not have sufficient face masks. At one point, management at the facility had asked staff to reuse masks, with instructions to turn them inside out. After reading the story, Duerr took action.
Gray: Councilwoman Duerr, you were involved with getting some masks over to Lakeside Health and Wellness. Please explain how that came about.
Duerr: What happened was I had actually read a story in the RGJ by Anjeanette Damon and became aware of the situation at Lakeside Health and Wellness, which is in my ward 2. I immediately wrote a letter over to the [Washoe County Health District] requesting that they research this and also to send PPE [personal protective equipment], specifically masks, for that facility because it became obvious through the article that they did not have sufficient amounts, and the amounts that they did have, they were reusing multiple times. I got a contact that a friend of mine, a local developer, was on his way over to the Lakeside Health and Wellness with some homemade masks. The next morning, I was contacted by [Reno Fire Division Chief] Bob Leighton, who is our liaison to the emergency operations center, and he was able to obtain a commitment from the Reno Fire Department and REMSA [Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority]. My understanding is that our fire department and REMSA actually came forward with 200 N95 masks. They also brought, I believe, 400 surgical masks.
Gray: KUNR has reached out to Lakeside Health and Wellness to learn more about the situation at the facility. We haven't heard back. What do you know about staff being asked to reuse masks?
Duerr: So I learned that, actually through the RGJ story, staff were reusing their masks, which is not that uncommon when you have a shortage. But what is uncommon is the advice to turn the mask inside out, because basically what you're doing there is to take the contaminated side with some airing, I guess overnight, and then reuse it, but put that against your face. And everyone I've talked to since has said that is definitely not a standard protocol. And in talking to the director over there at Lakeside, she said, "yes, it had been an accident in their directions, that it was not a proper protocol." So what I've learned is, yes, it is common in a desperate situation to reuse equipment. I really think it highlights the point that we are in a situation where it's every state for themselves, every community for themselves, really every facility for themselves, and that includes our hospitals and our nursing homes. They are out there competing against others for this critical equipment and there really isn't sort of a universal acquisition and distribution of the equipment and that really, really troubles me.
Gray: Nursing homes and other residential treatment type facilities are vulnerable to COVID-19 outbreaks. We've been seeing it here in Washoe and nationwide. What should be done to address the needs of these types of facilities?
Duerr: With or without the coronavirus, we have a lot of people that are living in care facilities of one type or another, and the question is what are we doing as a community to make sure those care facilities are providing the care that is in fact needed? I think that for much of the country, and including Nevada, these are not often shining beacons of the medical profession or care profession, unfortunately. They're often understaffed. They're often underfunded. We need to invest resources as a community here. If it's not a well-functioning care facility, this is not where we want our respected elders, our family members, our mothers and fathers, our grandparents. We want them to have a good quality of life. So I think this is a large area of improvement.
