More of Wyoming’s nursing home residents are getting sick and dying from COVID-19, new figures released Wednesday by the AARP show.
COVID cases occurred in state nursing homes at a rate of six per 100 residents during a four-week period that ended Oct. 23. That is the third-highest rate in the nation behind New Hampshire (10.12) and Maine (9.16). It’s also a slight increase over the previous four-week rate, which stood at 4.5, according to the AARP.
Total cases for the four weeks ending Oct. 23 were 107. For comparison, there’s been more than 2,200 cases in nursing homes since the June 1, 2020 — about two and a half months into the pandemic.
Three nursing home residents died during the four weeks that ended Oct. 23, equating to a rate of .17 per 100 residents. That’s the sixth-highest rate in the U.S., the AARP reported.
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About 44% of Wyoming’s nursing home residents are up-to-date on COVID vaccines. And only one in five staff are current on their immunizations. Wyoming in general trails the nation in COVID vaccination rates.
Three of five nursing homes in Wyoming reported at least one staff case of the virus, or 85 cases in total. That comes amid a staffing shortage. About 60% reported that they didn’t have enough workers, a higher number than all but three other states.
Still, the staffing situation is improving somewhat. The previous AARP report showed 63% of Wyoming facilities with shortages. At the same time, Wyoming’s staffing issues are dramatically higher than the nation as a whole. Only a quarter of U.S. nursing homes reported a worker shortage.
Wyoming nursing homes and long-term care facilities were particularly hard hit during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the state’s first notable outbreaks took place at a nursing home. And by December of 2020, more than 50 residents of Casper long-term care facilities had died.
Joshua Wolfson
Editor
Joshua Wolfson joined the Star-Tribune in 2007, covering crime and health before taking over the arts section in 2013. He also served as managing editor before being named editor in June 2017. He lives in Casper with his wife and their two kids.
