Gayla McDaniel was concerned when she got a call last week from the SavaSeniorCare nursing home where her uncle is recovering from a stroke. The call from the caregivers at the SavaSeniorCare facility -Brian Center in Gastonia -was to let her know that her uncle was exposed by a staff member who tested positive for COVID-19. The next day, he was tested for the virus with a positive result.
Records released by the Gaston County Health Department show Cartner is one of at least 15 residents that have tested positive for the virus, along with two staff members. The paperwork shows the nursing home first reported a case on July 3 and the latest onset of symptoms was on July 7.
However the Brian Center in Gastonia is NOT included in the list of nursing home with outbreaks released by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS agreed to start publishing a list of outbreaks in April, after being threatened with a lawsuit to get access to the data. The agency publishes an “updated” list of facilities with outbreaks every Tuesday and Friday at 4:00 p.m. It has never been accurate or complete.
Gayla McDaniel, whose uncle is battling COVID-19 at a nursing home, said she wishes more would be done to alert the public.
“I think, when you’re exposed, family members should know immediately,” she said of nursing home residents exposed to COVID-19. “You know, the community should know. Everybody should know that there was an exposure.”