HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Henrico nursing home cited for keeping COVID-19 positive residents in the same room with COVID-19 negative residents may now be a leader in the fight against the coronavirus.

From plexiglass barriers to data programs that help track COVID-19 symptoms.

As the novel coronavirus began to take hold in the United States, disproportionately affecting residents of nursing homes, Luther Woods in Hatboro began utilizing data analytics combined with best medical practices to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. The nursing home had started using Megadata Health Systems, a data analytics platform based in Lakewood, N.J., more than a year ago, initially for its financial reports, but then began utilizing it for clinical information as well, said Terri L. Costa, RN, Luther Woods administrator.

Since my last reporting, I’ve noticed a shift in the post-acute sector relating to how individuals within the industry are being impacted by COVID-19. This novel virus is unlike anything we’ve ever been exposed to before, and in high-risk populations it’s important to detect the virus as quickly as possible. The tallies for casualties spawned by COVID-19 are only rising within nursing homes because of the close quarters and inability to prevent contact with outsiders. It’s important long-term facilities are strategic in their approaches to treatment, and that’s just what they are doing with the careful scrutiny of available data to find COVID-19 sooner.

Measures taken against COVID-19 have been shown to work. Social distancing, one of the most common COVID-19 precautions, when done properly, can mean hundreds or even thousands of cases prevented. Boston, when the first reported case of COVID-19 came in, waited 53 days to issue a stay at home order. But this was too little too late – by this time there were 663 cases per 100,000 people. Compared to a city like Seattle, who issued the stay at home order only 13 days later, had significantly fewer infected – only 114 cases per 100,000 people.

Is data the key to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic? As the old saying goes, to be forewarned is to be forearmed, and knowledge gives us the power to fight back. As this pandemic has been caused by a novel coronavirus that no one has immunity to or has seen before, getting as much information as possible distributed as quickly as possible is key to stopping the spread and ending the pandemic.

Learn how data is saving lives through careful analysis of information.

Across the US, one type of facility has been a horrifying locus for coronavirus deaths: the nursing home. The Associated Press reported this week that there have been more than 20,000 coronavirus deaths in US nursing homes. That would be almost a third of all deaths in the US, measured against the CDC’s most recent count of total US deaths from the disease.

Thousands of COVID-19 deaths have been linked to nursing home residents or their caregivers - but COVID-19 isn’t stopping there. Though hundreds of thousands have been infected, efforts taken by governments such as social distancing have been proven to work. Looking at and comparing cities of similar sizes who enacted social distancing guidelines at different times can give us some insight on how well social distancing works.

Now that nursing home deaths have been included in the COVID-19 tally, the United Kingdom has officially seen more than 26,000 deaths. This places Britain in second place for most Coronavirus deaths in Europe. In percentage form, roughly 15.8% of Britains who have caught the virus have gone on to die.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 we have found that those who are most vulnerable to its effects are also the hardest to protect. In nursing homes and long term care facilities across the world, as soon as COVID-19 gets in it sweeps through the facility at great speed. Residents are extremely susceptible and in close proximity to one another, which makes for a deadly combination. In March in Seattle, long term care facilities saw a spike in COVID-19 cases of 172%. Could earlier detection save residents of these facilities?

Research is moving fast in the age of COVID-19, and even new methods of early detection can save lives because of the virulent nature of the virus. For example, data from multiple nursing homes with confirmed cases show a correlation between testing pulse oxygen twice a day and early detection of COVID-19, up to two weeks before a temperature check shows the same. Learn more about how data is saving lives through careful analysis of information in this infographic.

As COVID-19 spreads across the world, there are certain populations of people who are at increased risk for contracting it and dying from it. One of the most difficult populations to care for right now is nursing home patients. They live in close proximity to one another and are more susceptible to the virus and are considerably more likely to die from the virus. Additionally, it is hard to keep them sequestered, as the people they depend on for care and feeding come and go with every shift, potentially bringing the virus with them. In order to fight this novel coronavirus, we will need better data about how it spreads in close quarters like nursing homes so that early detection can lead to better containment.

The whole world is fighting the invisible monster of COVID-19 right now, and because we know so little about the virus it’s taking everything we can throw at it just to keep it from overwhelming our medical systems. Until there is a cure or a vaccine, preventing the spread is key. Currently, people are testing for elevated temperatures as a way to detect COVID-19, but by the time you show a fever you’ve already potentially infected others for weeks.

In this episode, Shalom shares with us a discovery that will enable early detection of Covid19 in nursing homes and other communal settings. This literally can save lives! Through early clinical interventions, residents can be isolated and treated and perhaps even cured before the symptoms become too acute for treatment.

Data has shown a strong correlation between changes in pulse oxygen levels and early onset of COVID-19, up to two weeks before an infected person would first show a fever.

With COVID-19 spreading through the U.S. like wildfire with hundreds of thousands of confirmed cases and thousands of deaths across the country. Nursing homes are unfortunately some of the hardest hit places anywhere in the country. In Seattle, Washington, the Life Care Center of Kirkland was one of the first U.S. epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak. More than two thirds of the residents have tested positive for the virus and nearly 40 have died. Across the U.S., more than 2,000 long term care facilities have reported cases of COVID-19 – New Jersey alone, nearly 400 of these facilities have been affected by the outbreak, resulting in more than 1,500 deaths.

The nursing home was hard hit by the Covid-19 outbreak. We all know this. It's all over the news every day. Megadata created a new tool to help nursing home operators fight this and mitigate the risk of an outbreak in their facilities using advanced data reporting. They are offering this now for FREE to all SNF operators to help them manage through this crisis.