Hale Makua Confirms Two COVID-19 Cases: One Resident of Kahului Facility and One Home Health Patient

Hale Makua Health Services received word from the State of Hawaiʻi, Department of Health that one resident has tested positive for COVID-19 at Hale Makua Kahului and one Hale Makua Home Health patient has tested positive as well.

Administrators say the nursing home patient had received two negative test results prior to admittance to Hale Makua from Maui Memorial Medical Center on Aug. 13, 2020 but was re-tested after receiving notification of contact from the hospital and received a positive test result yesterday. The resident is currently asymptomatic and being cared for in isolation.

The Home Health patient is currently being cared for at the hospital once again. Hale Makua is currently testing all staff and residents who may be at risk. Updates will be provided as they develop.

“It has been a trying time for our residents, families and staff. Since March, we have been forced to restrict visitors and have put many new precautions in place to ensure that we keep our kupuna safe and healthy,” said Hale Makua Health Services CEO, Wesley Lo.  :While we fight the daily battle against this pandemic, the difficult reality is that it is not over and we must continue to stay vigilant and dedicated to keeping our community safe.”

Hale Makua Kahului previously had one asymptomatic patient who tested positive after being admitted to the facility in April. After a full recovery and rehabilitation, the patient was able to be released and returned home to Kona in June.

Lo said, “I cannot thank our dedicated employees enough for the hard work and personal sacrifice that they have made during this time. As we deal with the ever-changing landscape of Maui, our staff has prioritized the residents and kupuna. I still strongly believe that by working together and caring for one another, we will get through these challenging circumstances.”

At Hale Makua nursing home and adult residential care home, precautions include:

• Staff and vendors screened for respiratory symptoms and/or fever prior to entering the campuses since early March.
• All new admissions have been admitted to West neighborhood in Kahului since March 23.
• All employees have been required to wear face masks since April 2.
• All employees providing care to residents who may have been exposed to COVID-19 have been following appropriate PPE protocols since April 11, when the organization was notified by DOH of potential COVID-19 exposure.
• Visitors have been prohibited, except in certain circumstances deemed appropriate by an Administrator. Creative ways to keep residents in touch with loved ones have been implemented.
• Employees who work in other healthcare settings are temperature checked at the start and end of shift, in addition to wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout their shift at Hale Makua.
• High touch surfaces are wiped down frequently.

Administrators say Home Health by Hale Makua, precautionary measures to keep patients healthy, safe and out of the hospital include:

• Continuing to provide education to staff and patients about preventative measures like social distancing, proper hand hygiene, and cleaning and disinfection protocols.
• Conducting staff meetings remotely instead of in person.
• Increasing the use of teleworking among staff.
• Providing increased support to our patients and families by telephone or telehealth calls.
• Preadmission screening protocols.
• Staff screening protocols.
• Pre-visit screening protocols for the entire household.
• Pandemic visit protocols, to include limiting nonessential persons from the visit, source control, distancing, and appropriate use of PPE.
• Training our staff to provide COVID-19 specific education to all high-risk patients and household members.