Almost All Residents At 3 Gwinnett Group Homes Have COVID-19

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Almost all residents of three group-care homes in Gwinnett County have contracted COVID-19, and 49 people between them have died, according to the Georgia Department of Community Health.

PruittHealth Lilburn — and Life Care Center of Gwinnett and Delmar Gardens of Gwinnett’s nursing home, both in Lawrenceville — reported near complete infection of residents, according to numbers released Thursday by the health department.

PruittHealth Lilburn reported that 96 of its 98 residents had tested positive for the coronavirus. Life Care Center of Gwinnett actually reported more infections than residents — 61 out of 50 — which is likely an anomaly of how residents are counted. Delmar Gardens’ nursing home reported similar numbers, with 43 infections against 42 residents.

Two of the facilities also reported among the higher death tolls in Georgia from COVID-19: 19 for Life Care Center of Gwinnett and 18 for PruittHealth Lilburn. Both death totals place them in the top 10 among 430 facilities that reported to the state. Delmar Gardens of Gwinnett’s nursing home reported 12 deaths.

Although Georgia doesn’t report recovery rates for the general population, it does report them for nursing and personal-care homes. According to Thursday’s statistics, only about 23 percent of residents who contracted the coronavirus recovered at Life Care Center of Gwinnett. At PruittHealth Lilburn and Delmar Gardens of Gwinnett, the recovery rate was better, both near 50 percent. The statewide average for recovery from COVID-19 among group-home residents is about 52 percent. The report offered no information as to pre-existing conditions.

The 21 other area facilities — 19 in Gwinnett County, two over the county line in Loganville — fared better. They are:

• Parkside Post Acute and Rehabilitation, Snellville — 61 positives, 135 residents
• Cambridge Post Acute Care Center, Snellville — 46 positives, 102 residents
• Life Care Center of Lawrenceville — 27 positives, 43 residents
• Brookdale Lawrenceville — 17 positives, 29 residents
• The Pearl at Loganville — 13 positives, 22 residents
• Sunrise of Five Forks, Lilburn — 8 positives, 69 residents
• Discovery Village at Sugarloaf, Suwanee — 8 positives, 72 residents
• Dogwood Forest of Grayson — 4 positives, 97 residents
• Brookside Stone Mountain — 4 positives, 32 residents
• Pebblebrook Health Center at Park Springs, Stone Mountain — 3 positives, 35 residents
• Arbor Terrace at Hamilton Mill, Dacula — 2 positives, 85 residents
• Annandale Village, Suwanee — 2 positives, 84 residents
• The Retreat at Buford — 1 positive, 63 residents
• Mansions at Gwinnett Park, Lawrenceville — 1 positive, 22 residents
• Silverleaf Alzheimers Care of Snellville — 1 positive, 37 residents
• Benton House of Sugar Hill — 1 positive, 45 residents
• The Retreat at Loganville — 1 positive, 57 residents
• Benton House of Grayson — 0 positives, 53 residents
• Delmar Gardens of Gwinnett (personal care home), Lawrenceville — 0 positives, 87 residents
• Salude-the Art of Recovery, Suwanee — 0 positives, 63 residents
• Atria Park of Tucker — 0 positives, 53 residents

On Friday, Gov. Brian Kemp’s office said Georgia has now tested 97 percent of nursing home residents, a 12 percent improvement in one week. In addition, staff testing in nursing homes is up 13 percent from the previous week.

"This pandemic has hit nursing homes across the country especially hard, and I am thankful to our team as well as private-sector partners for making every effort to protect vulnerable Georgians,” Kemp said in a statement.

Late Thursday, Kemp announced the state would ease many of its coronavirus restrictions for the general public. Georgians 65 and older are now no longer required to shelter in place — unless they live in a nursing home.

OTHER NEWS:

• Frontline Pay for 1,000 Poll Workers: DeKalb Senate Votes
• Woman Found Dead Stuck In Midtown Clothing Donation Bin
• GA Coronavirus Measures On Restaurants, Movies, Events Eased
• Black Lives Matter Post Earns Police Chief Time Off