Today the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) released the names of skilled nursing facilities (nursing homes) with active COVID-19 facility-wide public health investigations. On May 13, 2020, there are 38 nursing homes with active public health investigations in Wisconsin.

People who live in nursing homes are among our most vulnerable when it comes to COVID-19 infections. Long-term care facilities are proactively informing residents, family members, and local & state health departments about positive cases in their facilities. Listing nursing homes provides additional transparency about where infections may be occurring.

“As we continue to see cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes, it is important to be transparent and list the locations where they are occurring,” said DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. “We have opted to publish the names of nursing homes in order to provide peace of mind to families who cannot visit or check on their loved ones during these unprecedented times. We are grateful for all the important work that nursing homes are doing to prevent spread and the proactive steps they have taken to facilitate communication among families, loved ones and the residents in their care.”

In Wisconsin, a single case of a resident or staff testing positive for COVID-19 leads to a facility-wide public health investigation in nursing homes. The list of facilities will be updated weekly on Wednesday and is subject to change as new investigations are initiated and resolved.

Detecting COVID-19 in a nursing home is an indicator that the nursing home is following proper procedures and working with public health experts to test and protect their residents and employees by using appropriate isolation and infection control practices. Proactive testing helps address outbreaks early on while they’re easier to isolate and manage.

DHS has released a wide array of data about COVID-19 in Wisconsin, including:

• Summary data
• Case data
• Deaths data
• County-level data
• Facility-wide investigations data
• Hospital capabilities data
• Badger Bounce Back dashboard

For up-to-date information about Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage. Also, follow @DHSWI on Facebook, Twitter, or dhs.wi on Instagram for more information on COVID-19.