New Hope Long-Term Care Facility Deals with Omicron Spike
At North Ridge Health and Rehab in New Hope, COVID-19 has significantly impacted operations over the past few weeks. Officials say at one point, they had 48 residents and 24 staff members who tested positive for COVID-19.
“It’s been very hectic for cases,” said Austin Blilie, vice president of operations at North Ridge Health and Rehab.
The current surge is attributed to the highly transmissible omicron variant. Since the pandemic began, more than half of COVID-19 deaths involved elderly patients at nursing homes, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Health.
In December for two weeks, about 30 Minnesota National Guard members worked at North Ridge Health and Rehab to help the facility deal with severe staffing shortages. Those shortages persist.
“So, certified nursing assistant shifts, every two weeks we have approximately 700 shifts that are open,” explained Blilie.
Nurses are picking up extra shifts to cover the open spots. North Ridge Health is also filling some openings with temp workers. But it’s still not enough.
“It’s gotten a little better after the holidays, but we don’t see much reprieve here,” said Blilie.
