JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Isolation facilities for Florida’s most vulnerable COVID-19 patients have taken in hundreds of elderly people who are being treated for the coronavirus.
As of Tuesday, Dolphin Pointe, a facility in Jacksonville, had more patients being treated for COVID-19 in the state than any other of the facilities. The facilities are meant to be an in-between for patients in nursing homes and assisted living facilities who are COVID-19 positive but don’t require hospitalization.
It’s a model that the Agency for Health Care Administration says is freeing up beds for the sickest of coronavirus patients. Across the state, there are a total of 22 dedicated recovery facilities.
Dolphin Pointe covers a region of seven counties. It has the second highest number of beds of any COVID-19 isolation center in the state.
Based on data provided Tuesday by Dolphin Pointe, 161 people who tested positive for COVID-19 transferred from a hospital to Dolphin Pointe. It showed 131 people transferred from nursing facilities and two people transferred from an assisted living facility.
Data from the Florida Department of Health shows that in one week, there have been 16 more deaths due to COVID-19 in Northeast Florida long term care facilities.
According to AHCA, hospitals, nursing facilities and assisted living facilities have the authority to request to discharge patients to these COVID-19 isolation centers.
The agency says the COVID-19 dedicated centers are supported with Medicaid dollars within the existing budget, and that it will be seeking the use money from the CARES Act in fiscal year 2021 to fund the centers.
Directors at Dolphin Pointe were not available Tuesday for interviews to further describe the process at the facility.