Coronavirus in Oregon Nursing Homes – Healthcare at Foster Creek

Updated 4/21/2020

Nursing homes always have a duty to provide a high degree of care for their residents. Now, that duty is more important than ever before. Unfortunately, some nursing homes aren’t doing everything they can to stop the spread of COVID-19, and in Portland, Healthcare at Foster Creek has come under scrutiny for numerous safety violations found by the Oregon Department of Human Services. 

Healthcare at Foster Creek Investigated Following COVID-19 Deaths

According to a report in The Oregonian (online), Healthcare at Foster Creek has become the site of one of the largest COVID-19 nursing home outbreaks: there are at least 50 confirmed cases of the disease amongst nursing home residents and staff. What’s more, there have been 14 coronavirus reported deaths of residents of the nursing home.

Following multiple COVID-19 deaths, the Department of Health and Human Services opened an investigation into Healthcare at Foster Creek. Its finding shows that the nursing home violated five state regulations; the report also includes documentation of 22 problems related to sanitation, safety, and best practices for infection control. Amongst some of the problems documented:

• The nursing home failing to supply enough personal protective equipment (PPE), including only giving staff one mask per day;
• The nursing home failing to provide infection control training to staff members;
• Staff members failing to wash their hands between interactions with different residents;
• The nursing home failing to check if staff who were coming to work had symptoms of coronavirus, including failing to check for fevers – a direct violation of federal guidelines and a state executive order; and
• Staff members failing to maintain social distancing requirements between colleagues and residents.

Read the full list of violations —> Safety-violations-at-Healthcare-at-Foster-Creek.

Legal Avenues for Recovery: Holding Nursing Homes Liable for Harm

Those who are age 55 and above – the ages of nearly all nursing home residents – are at an increased risk of severe complication and death should they contract the virus. Coronavirus deaths in nursing homes total more than 5,500, as of April 15, 2020.

Oregon Department of Human Services has released the following confirmed and pending cases of COVID-19 in Oregon nursing homes. At the present time, Laurelhurst Village in Portland has 38 reported infections and 4 deaths.

Facility Name	Type of Facility	City	Status	Who	Total cases	Total deaths
Bonaventure of Tigard	Assisted living	Tigard	Recovered	Resident	1	1
Oregon Veterans Home	Nursing home	The Dalles	Infected	Resident	3	0
Four Seasons Memory Care	Assisted living	Salem	Infected	Staff	4	1
Salem Transitional Care	Nursing home	Salem	Recovered	Resident	5	1
Corvallis Manor	Nursing home	Corvallis	Infected	Resident	9	1
Village Health Care	Nursing home	Gresham	Infected	Unknown	10	0
The Oaks at Sherwood Park	Nursing home	Keizer	Infected	Resident	14	1
Lebanon Veterans Home	Nursing home	Lebanon	Infected	Resident and staff	34	4
Laurelhurst Village	Nursing home	Portland	Infected	Resident and staff	38	4
Healthcare at Foster Creek	Nursing home	Portland	Infected	Resident and staff	50	9
Avamere Bethany ALF	Assisted living	Portland	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Avamere Court at Keizer	Assisted living	Keizer	Infected	Resident	Unknown	Unknown
Avamere Rehab of Hillsboro	Nursing home	Hillsboro	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Brookdale Beaverton	Assisted living	Beaverton	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Cherry Blossom Cottage	Assisted living	Portland	Infected	Resident	Unknown	Unknown
Edgewood Point Assisted Living	Assisted living	Beaverton	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Fernhill Estates	Nursing home	Portland	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Friendship Health Center	Nursing home	Portland	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Harmony Guest Home	Assisted living	Hillsboro	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Hearthstone At Murrayhill	Assisted living	Beaverton	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Marquis Centennial Post Acute Rehab	Nursing home	Portland	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Marquis Marian Estates	Nursing home	Sublimity	Infected	Resident and staff	Unknown	Unknown
Marquis Mill Park	Nursing home	Milwaukie	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Marquis Piedmont	Assisted living	Portland	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Maryville Memory Care	Assisted living	Beaverton	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
MorningStar Assisted Living & Memory Care of Beaverton	Assisted living	Beaverton	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Pacifica Senior Living	Assisted living	Portland	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Parkhurst Place	Assisted living	Hood River	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Powell Valley Memory Care	Assisted living	Gresham	Infected	Resident	Unknown	Unknown
Prestige Menlo Park	Nursing home	Portland	Recovered	Resident	Unknown	Unknown
Prestige Sr. Living High Desert	Assisted living	Bend	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Regency Care of Central Oregon	Nursing home	Bend	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Regency Park Alzheimer’s	Assisted living	Portland	Infected	Resident and staff	Unknown	Unknown
Regency Park Assisted Living	Assisted living	Portland	Infected	Resident and staff	Unknown	Unknown
River Grove Memory Care	Assisted living	Eugene	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Robison Jewish Home	Nursing home	Portland	Recovered	Resident and staff	Unknown	Unknown
Rose Linn Vintage Place	Assisted living	West Linn	Recovered	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Terrace at Laurelhurst Village	Assisted living	Portland	Infected	Staff	Unknown	Unknown
Timberhill Place	Assisted living	Corvallis	Recovered	Resident	Unknown	Unknown
Astor House Senior Living	Assisted living	Newberg	Recovered	Unknown	12	6
Jason Lee Manor	Assisted living	Salem	Recovered	Unknown	2	1
Marion Estates	Assisted living	Sublimity	Recovered	Unknown	16	1
Raleigh Hills Senior Care	Assisted living	Portland	Recovered	null	null	null

 

COVID-19 is highly contagious and, even when best practices are in place, stopping its spread can be difficult. However, simple practices–like implementing social distancing measures, washing hands frequently, and the proper use of PPE (personal protective equipment)–may indeed slow the spread and help to prevent infections.  Unfortunately, some nursing homes are failing to implement best practices, putting their residents at high risk.

If your loved one has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and has suffered severe complications as a result, including death, and you believe that a nursing home is to blame, you may have cause for a civil action. Nursing homes have a legal duty to exercise the highest duty of care when treating residents; if this duty is breached and a resident suffers harm as a direct result, the nursing home can be held liable and responsible for paying monetary damages. If you think that you have a case, we urge you to consult with an attorney immediately.

Call Our Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys Today

At the Johnston Law Firm, we know how devastating COVID-19 can be, and how tragic losing a loved one to the disease is. If you have questions about how to hold a nursing home liable for harm, please call our Oregon personal injury lawyers or send us a message directly for a free consultation. 

Call (503) 546-3167