Improved facilites at DCH getting tested

Jan. 25—A nation-wide outbreak of respiratory diseases is keeping the Daviess Community Hospital full.

During their monthly board meeting, officials reported the census had increased since December because of a number of respiratory diseases.

"We have quite a few coming in, including several more COVID patients," said DCH Vice President of Nursing Nancy Devine. "Currently, we have six COVID patients in house. We are also seeing RSV patients, pneumonia, flu. There is an uptick in all of them."

DCH is in the midst of a construction project. The first part of that project was completed in December, just in time for the additional patients.

"We have the six ICU rooms and the 10 med-surg rooms in our new acute care unit, and we have been keeping a pretty high census in all 16 beds overall," said Devine. "We have had periods where all six of the ICU rooms were full."

DCH is not the only hospital seeing a spike in respiratory disease cases.

"This is happening state-wide and nation-wide," said Devine. "I think the big cold-snap with the large weather change may have played into the additional illnesses. That tends to happen when it goes from very cold to like it is now, kind of warm with a lot of moisture."

Hospital officials say that they are considering going back to masking to try and limit the spread of the respiratory illnesses.

DCH CEO Tracy Conroy reported the second phase of the construction project is underway. That includes renovating the old ICU unit and using it to expand the emergency department. She said the patients, staff and doctors are all tolerating the changes caused by the construction.

Meanwhile, DCH officials are still awaiting more information on the future of Washington Nursing Center.

Officials with Chosen Health informed employees and the hospital earlier this week that they intend to shut down the facility. While Chosen Health owns the facility and operates it, the license is held by DCH as part of an agreement.

"I have tried to talk with them," said DCH VP of Operations Mandy Rodewald. "We have not received a date or any of the additional information we have asked for. We have not been involved at all in the decision making process."

Rodewald says the hospital is concerned about the reported 29 patients that are now at Washington Nursing Home.

"They will be relocated, obviously, and then what will happen will depend on what their families will want to do," she said. "They could wind up at some of the different nursing homes in this area. I am uncertain on what they may have available. I hate that because that is hard on them."

Because Chosen Health Care operates the nursing home and owns the building, the decisions on timing and other actions rest with them. Once the building closes, the license will revert to the state and DCH will have no more involvement with the operation.

The company has returned no phone calls from The Washington Times Herald.

"We have very little control over the situation," said Rodewald.

The company has around 50 employees in Washington. Rodewald says there is a shortage of health care professionals in the area. She says she has already seen efforts by various other nursing homes in the area to recruit some of those workers.

Chosen Health Care is an Indianapolis-based firm with 12 nursing homes, 11 that are located in Indiana. Among the Indiana facilities are Willow Manor in Vincennes and Bloomington Nursing and Rehabilitation.