8 City Nursing Homes Have COVID-19 Cases

The Department of Health Services has changed direction and released the names and locations of nursing homes with active COVID-19 investigations.

There are currently 38 nursing homes under investigation across the state, 12 of which are in Milwaukee County.

“As we continue to see cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes, it is important to be transparent and list the locations where they are occurring,” said DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm in a press release announcing the new data. “We have opted to publish the names of nursing homes in order to provide peace of mind to families who cannot visit or check on their loved ones during these unprecedented times. We are grateful for all the important work that nursing homes are doing to prevent spread and the proactive steps they have taken to facilitate communication among families, loved ones and the residents in their care.”

That’s different than what she said on April 30th. “Long-term care facilities are people’s residences and we are interested in protecting the privacy of people’s residences,” said the Secretary-designee when the state first released a regional count of open investigations.

An investigation is triggered if there is a single confirmed case at a nursing home.

“I am very pleased with the decision to release these names,” said Mayor Tom Barrett in a Wednesday afternoon press briefing. He said if he had a relative in one of the homes or a child working at one he would want to know the status.

DHS reports that at least 43 percent of COVID-19 deaths have been residents of nursing homes or assisted living facilities. It does not have residence data in 29 percent of cases.

Eight of the nursing homes with active investigations are in the city, including Alexian Village of Milwaukee (9301 N. 76th St.), Cameo Care Center – Autumn Lake Healthcare (5790 S. 27th St.), Crossroads Care Center (3216 W. Highland Blvd.), Edenbrook Lakeside (2115 E. Woodstock Pl.), Jewish Home & Care Center (now Ovation, 1414 N. Prospect Ave.), Maple Riding Health and Rehabilitation Center (2730 W. Ramsey Ave.), Sunrise Care Center (3540 S. 43rd St.) and Villa at Bradley Estates (6735 W. Bradley Rd.).

Suburban facilities include Allis Care Center (West Allis), Heritage Square Health Care Center (Greendale), Lutheran Home for the Aging (Wauwatosa) and Symphony of Glendale Nursing Home (Glendale).

In addition to the nursing homes, 48 other facilities in Milwaukee County are under investigation.

DHS does not identify all of those facilities, but 33 are long-term care facilities (12 of which are the nursing homes), 14 are workplaces, seven are group housing facilities, five are healthcare facilities and one is listed as “other setting.” One Milwaukee County facility had a confirmed case, but the investigation is now closed.

Facilities with fewer than 10 beds are not included in the state data.

The DHS website reports the locations by county.