These Myrtle Beach area nursing homes are seeing dramatic rise in coronavirus cases
As South Carolina and the rest of the country struggle to control the spread of the coronavirus, two nursing homes in Horry County have seen surges in positive cases over the last month, with both seeing positive cases top a dozen each.
The numbers of new daily cases has been trending down in the county recently, but Compass Post Acute Rehabilitation in Conway and NHC Healthcare Garden City in Murrells Inlet have had worse numbers in the past 30 days than they did in the four-month period of March through June, according to data from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
Compass, located at 2320 U.S. Highway 378, reported only one resident case and one staff member case in the first months of the pandemic, but 16 residents and six staff members have tested positive in the last 30 days, DHEC reports. In the last month, two residents have died as a result of the virus.
The nursing home has been scrutinized in the past. Last year, Compass was included in a list of nursing homes with care issues severe enough to be considered for federal oversight, The Sun News reported.
At NHC Healthcare Garden City located at 9405 Highway 17 Bypass, 12 residents and 11 staff members tested positive during the last 30 days. From March through June, NHC reported 15 resident cases but only two staff cases, and three resident deaths, according to DHEC data.
Compass and NHC didn’t respond to requests for comment from The Sun News.
Other area nursing homes and community living facilities have avoided recent outbreaks, including Loris Rehab and Nursing Center, which led the county in positive cases early in the pandemic. The Loris facility only recorded one staff case in July, compared to 59 residents and 26 staff members testing positive and 13 resident deaths in the first months of the pandemic.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, health officials have urged people over 65 to take extra precautions against the virus, as they face a higher risk of infection. Nursing homes across the country and in the Myrtle Beach area have grappled with how to respond to the pandemic, opting for virtual and isolated activities in lieu of the usual gatherings.
In the Myrtle Beach area, new cases of the coronavirus appear to be trending down recently, but the number of deaths reported has reached new heights in recent weeks. Horry County nursing homes have reported seven deaths due to the virus in the past month, DHEC reports.
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 2:22 PM.