Tennessee Discloses 37 COVID-19 Deaths In Long-Term Care Facilities

There have been 37 COVID-19 related deaths in the state’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

The state made the information public Wednesday after weeks of pressure from the general public and open records advocate. Federal regulators announced over the weekend that nursing homes would have to start disclosing cases and fatalities as well as sharing data with the Centers for Disease Control.

NHC Franklin had not confirm its outbreak of COVID-19. But state data says the facility has 14 cases and two deaths. Signature Healthcare in Cookeville had disclosed more than 50 positive cases, but state data now shows they’ve also had three residents die from coronavirus infections.

Previously, the state had decided not to release information, citing patient confidentiality.

“We take our duties to protect both public health and patient privacy very seriously,” Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said in a news release. “Based upon the current development of the COVID-19 situation in Tennessee, the Department has determined that releasing this data is in the public health interest.”

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, nursing homes and long-term care facilities had 375 confirmed cases and 37 deaths.

The facilities are located in Crockett, Davidson, Knox, Macon, Madison, Putnam, Rutherford, Shelby, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties.

Lagging Data

The nursing home with the largest number of cases is still Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing, with 161 confirmed cases and 19 deaths. The mayor of Sumner County has confirmed 21 deaths at the facility. Asked why the state’s numbers don’t line up, Piercey said the Department of Health will likely lag local confirmation.

“We are sort of the last source of truth, and that is the documentation of those deaths,” she said at the state’s daily press conference Wednesday. “We want to be absolutely certain that we are reporting that accurately. So we do take a little bit more time to do that.”

There are also nursing homes missing from the state’s list that have confirmed positive cases, like Life Care Center of Old Hickory Village.

According to the news release, the department will update nursing home data every Friday at 2 p.m.

“This data and report give a clear picture on the risks that the virus poses to long-term care facilities and the aggressive actions the state has taken and will continue to take to protect residents and staff,” Piercey said.

To address the issue, the Tennessee Department of Health has spelled out steps to implement “a targeted system of surveillance, mitigation, and resolution to suppress and stop outbreaks at their source.”

The agency is recommending facilities to screen residents and staff daily. If there are two or more suspected cases, the facility needs to notify local health departments.

According to the new plan, the department will complete an investigation within 12 hours, make recommendations and determine whether targeted testing is needed among residents and staff. It will then decide whether to mobilize the National Guard or the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, as has already been done in both Gallatin and Cookeville.

— WPLN’s Blake Farmer contributed to this post.