All 63 residents at Fort Worth-area nursing home transferred amid COVID-19 outbreak
Every resident of a Lake Worth long-term care facility was being moved out Wednesday and taken elsewhere.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission asked MedStar to relocate 63 people from Lake Worth Nursing Home, said Matt Zavadsky, the ambulance service’s spokesman. About 30 residents went to one facility and the remainder were transferred to others in Tarrant County, he said.
MedStar was told that about 25, or about 40%, of the residents were positive for the novel coronavirus. The ambulance service treated all of the residents as if they have COVID-19 because it was not certain.
It was not clear why the residents were moved from the facility in the 4200 block of Wells Drive. A HHSC representative did not respond Wednesday to questions from the Star-Telegram.
In an email, a HHSC spokesperson told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV, “Our investigation is ongoing. All families have been notified. More details about our investigation will be available once the investigation is complete.”
Management of the nursing home could not be reached for comment.
The effort began with an assessment of the residents Tuesday afternoon. MedStar determined that none of the residents needed to go to a hospital, Zavadsky said. On Wednesday morning, HHSC asked MedStar to relocate the residents and that was underway Wednesday night and may continue Thursday.
Zavadsky declined to release the names of the nursing facilities that were receiving the Lake Worth residents.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 9:45 PM.
