JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – Rachel Bunch, executive director of the Arkansas Health Care Association, says cases are far fewer in nursing homes.

In Craighead County, at present, the only nursing home or assisted living facility with cases is Lakeside Health and Rehab and St. Bernards Village.

Lakeside Health and Rehab have 46 cases. In the past 14 days, one case is active, 42 have recovered and three have died.

In the village of St. Bernards, they have 19 cases, including one active, 16 recovered and three deaths. Bunch says those are big numbers, compared to last year.

“Have 190 residents who tested positive in the last 14 days, 295 health workers who tested positive in the last 14 days. What I would say to you is that overall we are doing well compared to where we were in the past, ”Bunch said.

Bunch says it’s thanks to the vaccine.

“Vaccines have changed that. We keep the most staff and residents vaccinated in the FCC, and we’ve had it for many months now, and I’m really proud of it, ”Bunch said.

She says severe cases have also declined. In most cases, residents do not have as many symptoms.

“We still have a few hospitalizations, but not as many as we had. The other thing that we are able to offer now that is better and a great option for so many of our patients is monoclonal antibody therapy and we have been able to do that at this facility now, ”said Bunch.

Bunch also questioned the numbers on the Arkansas Center for Improving Health Care (ACHI) dashboard, saying the group is misrepresenting the facts and sensationalizing the pandemic at a time when healthcare workers have most in need of our support.

“He made statements with him, called out some facilities about the number of deaths and different things that unfortunately have really created fear in some of our communities,” Bunch said. “Many facilities contacted us to tell us that some of the data reported was inaccurate. “

ACHI responded on Wednesday evening with the following statement:

“The data used in the ACHI dashboard is self-reported weekly by nursing homes to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and posted on the CMS website. ACHI did not change any of the reported data, but provided an easy way for the Arkansans to access it. ACHI provided a copy of the dashboard to the Arkansas Health Care Association a week before publication and offered options for submitting corrections. At this stage, we have not been contacted by any retirement home. For people with loved ones in nursing homes or for families considering placing a loved one in such a facility, we believe this is important information to share. “

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