More than 50 Iowa nursing homes have experienced a COVID-19 outbreak since the vaccine rollout in December, and the home with the highest number of outbreaks is run by the state itself.

The Iowa Veterans Home has experienced five outbreaks over the course of the pandemic, more than any other long-term care facility in Iowa, according to newly released data from the Iowa Department of Public Health. It also has racked up one of the highest total number of infections. During the first 17 months of the pandemic, the IVH has been in outbreak status the equivalent of seven months.

The Marshalltown facility, which is home to roughly 400 veterans, now has a vaccine-acceptance rate among the staff of 70 percent, according to federal officials. The home employs roughly 865 workers.

Although IDPH reports only combined staff-and-resident infection numbers, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services breaks out and publicly reports resident-only infections. CMS says there have been 31 resident infections at the IVH to date, which suggests that state-employed workers account for more than three-fourths of the infections at the facility: 115 cases out of 146.

The veterans home now ranks fourth on the list of Iowa nursing homes with the most COVID-19 infections. The Iowa home with the highest number of infections over the past 17 months is the Good Shepherd Health Center in Cerro Gordo County, where 248 workers or residents have been infected as the result of two separate outbreaks at the home, according to the IDPH data.

Placing second on that list is the Risen Son Christian Village in Pottawattamie County, with 170 infections, The Good Samaritan Home of Ottumwa in Wapello County places third, with 159 infections.

Two of the five outbreaks at IVH occurred after the vaccine rollout in mid-December. A total of five residents of the home have died from COVID-19, according to state and federal officials.

State has revised

COVID-19 case data

COVID-19 case counts at the IVH and other Iowa facilities have changed over time. For example, last year IDPH reported the first two outbreaks at the veterans home accounted for 67 infections. It has since revised that number to 48.

Overall in Iowa, there have been at least 59 COVID-19 outbreaks in Iowa nursing homes since the vaccine was first made available to health care workers in mid-December 2020.

Currently, there are two Iowa homes in “outbreak” status, IDPH says, which the agency defines as three or more infections among staff and residents:

The Hubbard Care Center in Hardin County, where four residents and/or workers are reported to be infected. A previous outbreak at the home last year resulted in 58 infections.

The Montrose Health Care Center, where 12 residents and/or workers are infected. A previous outbreak at the home last fall resulted in 40 infections.

Four of the 11 Iowa homes that have had three separate outbreaks over the course of the pandemic are located in Polk County: Bishop Drumm Retirement Center, with 121 infections; Fleur Heights Care Center, 81 infections; Park Ridge Specialty Care, with 80 infections; and Calvin Community, with 79 infections.

State-run veterans home tops all Iowa care facilities in COVID-19 outbreaks