In a post on the agency website Wednesday evening, the Mississippi Department of Health listed all long-term care facilities in the state with active COVID-19 outbreaks.
In Attala County, two facilities — Attala County Nursing Center and the Mississippi State Veterans Home — were officially named. The Star-Herald had previously reported outbreaks at these two facilities based on locally-sourced information.
Attala County Nursing Center has reported thus far reported 45 patient cases, 15 employee cases and six patient deaths to the state. The privately owned facility is certified for up to 120 patients but it is unclear if it is currently operating at full capacity and the number of employees is not reported, either.
The Mississippi State Veterans Home has thus far reported 45 patient cases, 34 employee cases and nine patient deaths to the state. In information sent to The Star-Herald by the facility last week, management indicated there had been two rounds of testing at the facility, one conducted internally, the other conducted by the state health department. The facility said there are currently 135 patients and as many as 178 employees at the home.
A third local long-term care facility — unnamed in earlier more general state reports — was not named on the list released Wednesday. Several official sources told The Star-Herald it was the Hudspeth group home for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities in Kosciusko that had previously reported at least one case. Its omission from the new list suggests that the facility does not have any active cases at this time.
The same sources told The Star-Herald that the Atwood Personal Care Home in Kosciusko has yet to report any confirmed cases of COVID-19 among residents or staff to the MSDH.
The state health agency posted this more detailed long-term care facility data after The Pine Belt News, a sister paper to The Star-Herald, won a lawsuit against the MSDH after it failed to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request for the information. The Pinebelt News and The Star-Herald are both owned by Emmerich Newspapers of Jackson, MS, but are managed locally.
