Chautauqua Guest Homes in Charles City will test residents and staff

To The Press

Chautauqua Guest Homes announced that COVID-19 testing will be conducted on all residents and staff at its facilities in Charges City as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

No cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the facilities at this time.

“With the assistance of Floyd County Public Health, Chautauqua will complete voluntary testing for all residents, tenants and employees on May 28 and 29,” the company said in a press statement.

“Conducting this testing will provide an accurate picture of viral activity at the facilities on the day of testing and will establish baselines that can be utilized to compare with future results,” the statement said.

Chautauqua Guest Homes owns the 11th Street Chautauqua and 9th Street Chautauqua nursing homes, and the Riverside Senior Living assisted living facility.

“This testing is not currently required, however, the Chautauqua management team and infection preventionists are strongly recommending the testing of all residents/tenants and employees,” the statement said.

“While there are no known outbreaks in any Floyd County nursing facilities at this time, this decision was made as an intervention to identify if any residents, tenants or employees are carrying the virus without displaying any symptoms,” it said.

Residents and tenants residing in long term care and assisted living facilities are at high risk for infections, serious illness and death related to COVID-19, Chautauqua said.

“The main priority at Chautauqua is to maintain the health and safety of the residents and tenants residing in the facilities. This testing is an important addition to the many other infection prevention strategies currently in place and can assist the facilities in keeping COVID-19 out, detecting cases quickly and stopping the transmission.”

While reopening the state of Iowa has begun, nursing homes are not expected to reopen to visitors and ease other restrictions until the last of the three phases described in a nation-wide process is reached and only when certain data metrics are met, the company said.

“The overall goal of this restriction is to maintain a safe environment for the residents/tenants,” it said.