COVID-19 and Our State Veterans Homes – January 2021

The first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was administered at the Southern Nevada State Veterans Home (SNSVH) the last week of December. By the end of January, the residents and staff at both of our State Veterans Homes will have received first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“With the planned distribution of the vaccine, our team members, residents, and families finally see a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Miller. “We are very excited to finally have the vaccine available to our vulnerable nursing homes populations and the staff who care for them.”

In December, five residents at the Southern Nevada State Veterans Home (SNSVH), who tested positive for COVID-19, passed away. All had serious underlying medical conditions prior to contracting COVID-19. An 88-year-old Korean War Navy veteran, was on hospice when he contracted COVID-19 and later died at the hospital. An 85-year-old Army peacetime era veteran, died while at the SNSVH.  A 67-year-old peacetime veteran served in the U.S. Air Force died from COVID-related complications after a month-long hospitalization.  An 88-year-old Air Force, Korean War veteran who tested positive for COVID-19 and had been ill for two weeks passed away. Most recently, an 85-year-old U.S. Navy Vietnam War veteran also passed away from COVID-related complications.

“We are deeply saddened to report the deaths of these honored veterans and offer our deepest condolences to their family and friends,” said NDVS Director Kat Miller. “We anxiously await the day that every resident receives the COVID-19 vaccination, and no one ever again loses their life to this terrible disease. It has been nine months since we experienced our first case of COVID-19 in our home, and while our team has gotten better at responding to this horrific disease, it never gets easier; losing one of our own is always a terrific blow to our veterans’ home family.”

The SNSVH is being supported in its efforts to combat this outbreak by infection control experts from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. In surveys of the SNSVH over the past nine months, regulatory authorities have continued to observe that SNSVH staff are following all infection control protocols established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

At the SNSVH, all staff who care for residents are tested for COVID-19 prior to every shift. If the rapid test result is positive, then the staff member is immediately sent home to self-quarantine and does not have any contact with residents or other staff. Residents are tested a minimum of twice a week.

At the Northern Nevada State Veterans Home (NNSVH), residents and staff are being tested bi-weekly since the community COVID-19 prevalence is above 10 percent for Washoe County. Testing will continue until no new cases of COVID-19 infection among staff or residents are identified for a period of at least 14 days since the most recent positive result.

COVID-19 phone lines at both homes provide the latest information: SNSVH (702) 332-6705 and NNSVH (775) 418-5026. For more information and resources on Nevada’s response to COVID-19, please visit nvhealthresponse.nv.gov.