32 residents, 3 staff members test COVID-19 positive at Westmoreland Co. nursing home

GREENSBURG, Pa. — Routine testing of staff members began last week after one contract staff member and one employee tested positive for COVID-19 at Westmoreland Manor. In addition, 32 residents at the facility have now tested positive.

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The facility hadn’t had a single resident test positive for the coronavirus in the last six months since the pandemic started, but that changed once routine testing of staff became required.

Since the nursing home’s initial announcement on Monday, the number of positive cases in residents jumped from 20 to 32 out of 336 -- and another employee tested positive. That person is currently self-isolating at home.

Those who have tested positive are being confined to three of the nine units at the nursing home, which officials are referring to as “red zones.”

County officials said all staff and residents will be tested and it should be completed by Wednesday morning. All staff and residents that test negative will be retested every 3-to-7 days until testing shows no new cases at the facility. Face-to-face visitation is shut down and a decision to allow it again will be made in about two weeks.

Westmoreland Manor is a nursing home in Greensburg offering physical therapy, wound care, and hospice care among other services.

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Channel 11 spoke with a woman who’s been in the facility since before the pandemic. She wanted to remain anonymous but said she’s already noticing a change.

“Three times a day we get our temperatures taken, and they were testing employees coming in. And then there were no cases, so we were allowed visitors six feet apart," she said. "Well, that’s all shut down now again.”

That resident said everyone is being confined to their rooms for the next two weeks.

For a lot of residents, the hardest part is not being able to loved ones again.

“It almost feels like we’re in a prison. Even when we were allowed visitors, we’re not allowed to hug them ... we’re not allowed to touch them," she said. "It’s not the same. It’s tough on everybody.”

Window visits are allowed depending on test results, but the manor said things will be re-evaluated in 14 days to see if in-person visits can return.

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