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‘It just spread like wildfire’: Workers blow the whistle after COVID outbreak cripples Prescott nursing center

Multiple employees at Granite Creek tell the 12 News I-Team they were asked to work while waiting for COVID-19 test results and after testing positive for the virus.

PRESCOTT, Ariz. — More than 50 patients and 20 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at Granite Creek Health and Rehabilitation Center in Prescott, the 12 News I-Team has learned. 

The Yavapai County Community Health Services further confirms 10 people have died from COVID-19-related causes.

This represents one of the most dramatic and difficult outbreaks in Yavapai County, community health services director Leslie Horton said.

“With our assisted living sites, obviously those are something that is a top priority when we think of vulnerability and vulnerable populations with COVID-19,” Horton said.

The 12 News I-Team spoke with current and former employees – some of whom said they are refusing to return to the facility due to their fears over the outbreak and the facility’s response.

“I don’t ever want to go back there,” one health care worker told 12 News, speaking anonymously to protect her job prospects in Yavapai County. “I’m not exposing myself.”

Multiple employees raised concerns about the facility’s move to continue accepting new patients, fearing the potential for rapid spread.

In June, state health department records show that Granite Creek continued admitting new residents, including those whose “COVID-19 status was unknown and considered to be presumptive for COVID-19” and were placed on “droplet precautions for 14 days.”

The health department cited Granite Creek for infection control requirements, specifically after viewing one staff member enter a room under droplet precautions without appropriate personal protective equipment and another failing to perform hand hygiene when exiting a room under droplet precaution.

The state investigator wrote in the citation: “These failures had the potential to spread the communicable disease COVID-19 to other residents and staff in the facility.”

Chris Minnick, a spokesperson for the Arizona State Health Department did not provide comment on the state’s investigation, but as of July 20, the state’s report showed it had not confirmed the citation was corrected.

Still, employees said a lack of protective equipment doesn’t cover the extent of their concerns.

Employees said they were asked to work before getting test results for the virus, and in at least one case, an employee told the I-Team they were asked to work after testing positive.

“I told them that I am very ill -- and I worked shifts while I was feeling sick,” an anonymous health care worker said. “Bottom line is this: people need us. The reason why we go in every day is because these sick patients need us.”

Mike Rasmussen, the executive director at Granite Creek declined an interview with the I-Team, instead of sending an email, stating in-part:

“At all times, we have acted in a manner consistent with our goal of promoting and protecting the health and well-being of our residents and our staff,” Rasmussen wrote.

“As far as the State survey is concerned, we are responding to the issues identified and continuing to refine our existing infection control approaches and techniques.”

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, experts have widely agreed that those most vulnerable to catching and even dying from the virus are older people with pre-existing conditions.

In Arizona, people over the age of 65 account for 73 percent of those who died from the virus.

Nationally, nursing facilities faced much stricter regulations, including lockdowns and priority for protective equipment and testing. So far, the state of Arizona has identified more than 758 “congregate settings,” including assisted living and long-term care facilities, and places like prisons or jails as having COVID-19 outbreaks.

The state health department refused to provide detailed information about the outbreak at specific facilities and 12 News, along with multiple journalism entities sued the state over access to the records. 

RELATED: Judge mulls whether Arizona must reveal nursing home data after 12 News, other media companies sue

Ultimately, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare services began to publish facility-specific data relating to COVID-19 cases among residents and staff, though the data is not always up to date. 

The county and state health departments have also stepped in to help Granite Creek regain control over the virus.

Yavapai County health services director Horton said the county provided Granite Creek with protective gear including 1,000 surgical masks, 300 N95 masks, 1,900 pairs of gloves, 55 face shields, 96 eye protection, and 96 coveralls.

“It’s sad to me that we had to have these examples of how things can go wrong,” Horton said. “Hopefully the others will use that though to make things better for their residents and to hopefully keep COVID-19 away.”

Read Mike Rasmussen’s full statement: 

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