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Nearly Half Of Indiana's Nursing Homes Report At Least One Case Of COVID-19

Residents in long-term care facilities make up a significant portion of Indiana's total deaths.
Residents in long-term care facilities make up a significant portion of Indiana's total deaths.

Nearly half of the state’s long-term care facilities have experienced at least one case of COVID-19 among residents, according to a significant data release today by the Indiana State Department of Health.

Of 754 facilities required to submit data, almost half or 344 have experienced at least one positive resident case.  At least one resident death has been reported by 235 facilities. During a press call yesterday, state health officials said they expected a public dashboard to be released next week. 

Indiana’s reporting comes months after all of its neighboring states and nearly all other states created such dashboards. The state cited patient confidentiality and other pandemic priorities while keeping the data private.

Officials this week expressed similar concerns about releasing COVID-19 school-level data. State health commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said, incorrectly, that concerns over HIPAA and FERPA were putting the release of that data on hold.

For the latest news and resources about COVID-19, bookmark our Coronavirus In Indiana page  here.

Brock E.W. Turner is a reporter for Indiana Public Media covering COVID-19, politics, and Indiana's urban-rural divide. Brock has been awarded regional Edward R. Murrow Awards each of the past two years. A native Hoosier, Brock is a graduate of DePauw University.