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Largo Nursing Home Residents Return After Health Scare
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Published: April 21, 2008
Updated: 04/21/2008 05:03 pm
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LARGO – All nine residents of a Largo assisted-living facility who were taken to hospitals Sunday morning because of flulike symptoms returned to the facility today, the operation's administrator said.
Once examined, it turned out that only two of the nine residents of Grand Villa of Largo had flulike symptoms, said the administrator, Monique Spruill. The others did not appear to have any illness, she said.
A resident health care aide also was taken to a hospital, but he was sent home after he was checked and will return to work Thursday, in accordance with his work schedule, Spruill said.
The Pinellas County Health Department today began investigating how the residents became ill. An inspector will swab surfaces at the facility at 750 Starkey Road, and the results of the residents' hospital blood tests will be forwarded to a laboratory for analysis.
The findings of the investigation were not expected soon, said Jeannine Mallory, a spokeswoman for the agency. "Our investigation is not going to lead to a real fast answer."
Meanwhile, the health department has asked the facility's staff not to have anyone eat for 48 hours in the dining area used by those who became ill. The department also asked staff not to go from wing to wing to ensure the illness is not spread, said Gayle Guidash, the department's environmental health and preparedness director.
All the patients and the employee were from the Grand Villa unit that houses people with memory problems, usually Alzheimer's disease. There are 20 patients in that section. No residents of other portions of the facility were affected, Largo District Fire Chief Brian Brady said.
Though caregivers already wash their hands, they have been asked to be especially diligent about the practice. They also were asked to disinfect areas more than they already do, said Guidash.
Last year, the Agency for Health Care Administration inspected the facility and found violations, mainly regarding medication storage, but those problems have been resolved, agency spokesman Fernando Senra said.
A hazardous materials team found no problems in the air quality at Grand Villa after the patients and employee were taken to hospitals Sunday.
Nine people were taken to Sun Coast Hospital in Largo, and one was taken to Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater.
Emergency workers decided to hospitalize them.
"They were showing flulike symptoms, but with that many people we can't take any chances," Brady said.
Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336 or spthompson@tampatrib.com.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( allcolorsandnone ) on April 21, 2008 at 12:47 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
So they had a visitor that came in either with the flu or contagious with it prior to having symptoms. The first person exposed then exposed other patients. This isn't fun for anyone, even with the high risk they have, but it doesn't really warrent a criminal investigation.
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Posted by ( GF ) on April 21, 2008 at 12:56 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Two people in my house had "flu-like symptoms" a couple of weeks ago and we didn't get anywhere near that much attention.
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Posted by ( luvco ) on April 21, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Old people farts can cause flulike symptoms. Can clog up your sinuses for days.
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