Henry County reports increased COVID-19 cases at long-term care facility

NAPOLEON, Ohio (WTVG) - Northcrest Rehab and Nursing Center in Napoleon has 40 staff members and 60 residents who, as of Wednesday afternoon, all tested positive for COVID-19. Eight people tied to this facility died due to the virus, according to the Henry County Health Department.

“It’s a large concern,” Henry County Health Commissioner Mark Adams said. “It actually covers a great deal of the employees and a great deal of the residents there.”

Adams says cases are also occurring at another long-term care facility in Henry County, but those numbers are only a tenth of what is happening down the street from the Henry County Health Department offices.

“In each of these outbreaks it really only took one person and they did nothing wrong," Adams said. “It’s not that anybody did go somewhere, go to an event or a wedding or some other type of event and get COVID and then come back. In each of these events, they were doing something they were allowed to do, they had no idea that they had it, and then they brought it to work with them.”

Management at Northcrest Rehab and Nursing Center said it was unavailable to meet with 13abc for an interview but provided an emailed statment.

In part, the facility says it is restricting visitation to essential providers only, performing assessment checks three times per day, increased cleaning and disinfecting protocols while canceling all non-essential appointments.

“Some people think that maybe because were only such a small county that maybe it won’t spread as fast,” Adams said. “That’s exactly what the governor is pointing out, is that once we start getting lax with it and that we don’t think we can bring it in those long-term care facilities or that we can’t take it to work with us. That’s when it starts to spread.”

Henry County has a population of 27,000 people and since March has 276 confirmed COVID-19 cases.