44 Coronavirus Cases Reported In Calabasas Memory-Care Facility

CALABASAS, CA — Over half of the residents at a memory-care facility in Calabasas have tested positive for the coronavirus since March, according to Los Angeles County public health officials. Thirty-eight residents (out of 65 total, according to a report in the Acorn) and six employees at the Silverado Calabasas Care Memory Community on Calabasas Road have tested positive, one of the largest outbreaks in the western San Fernando Valley.

Facility officials say that they have taken a number of precautions to contain the spread of the virus.

Silverado Senior Vice President Jeff Frum said that all residents were tested from April 21 to May 2, and any residents previously tested negative have been retested. Frum also added that it was made clear that all employees were expected to be tested, even if tests were conducted outside the facility.

Residents who test positive are transferred to a designated observation area separate from the community, while employees testing positive are asked to quarantine according to CDC guidelines. Since March, they are also no longer allowed any visitors except properly screened health care workers.

Yet this can present unique challenges in a memory-care facility where patients have some form of dementia, and do not understand they are at risk, how to prevent infection, why they'd need to move. Frum said that the agency is following CDC recommendations on caring for dementia patients with COVID, which advise employees to wear extra protection to avoid wandering residents, and work hard to make any necessary moves as non-stressful as possible.

"We use every tool in our toolkit except chemical and physical restraint," said Frum.

Frum also told the Acorn that the facility began stockpiling personal protective equipment (PPE), and that employees wear face shields when appropriate, and always wear gloves and KN95 medical-surgical masks. This extra protective equipment — in addition to excessive hygiene, is what helps watch over a population that is at greater risk of spreading infections.

LA County guidelines state that residents should have their temperature taken every 12 hours, and are provided with a clean and non-medical face covering every day. Residents eat meals in their rooms instead of a communal dining area, and are discouraged from leaving their rooms.

“We remain vigilant with our enhanced infectious disease protocols while monitoring temperature and symptoms of all our residents and associates,” Frum said in an email to Patch. “These protocols include a daily cleaning schedule for all of our communities and washing the hands of all of our residents every two hours. These protocols meet CDC guidelines and are above the standard of practice in the industry.”

There are signs that these stringent measures have worked to stem outbreaks at other nearby facilities. According to the Acorn, in April, the Reserve at Thousand Oaks reported positive results among 11 employees and eight residents.

MBK Senior Living, the company that operates the Reserve at Thousand Oaks, told the Acorn that three of the residents and two of the employees testing positive have fully recovered.

MBK added that on May 6, no new positive cases came back.