OLMSTEAD UPDATES

News blog follows implementation of landmark 2014 federal consent decree that requires Rhode Island to remedy violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision. Over ten years, Rhode Island must reinvent state services for citizens with developmental disabilities to give them opportunities for supportive employment and meaningful activities in their communities.

By Gina Macris

At least 1,300 residents and staff of group homes for adults with developmental disabilities in Rhode Island have been vaccinated against COVID-19 since Jan. 16, with another 500 vaccinations scheduled for today and plans underway for additional clinics next week, according to a spokeswoman for group home operators, Tina Spears, executive director of the Community Provider Network of Rhode Island.

Spears is coordinating the exchange of logistical information necessary between group home operators and public health officials to carry out the vaccination clinics.

The acceleration of vaccinations for group home residents and staff comes as the rate of COVID-19 infections in congregate care seems to be slowing, after a spike around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Going forward, health officials on the national and statewide level are racing to step up the pace of vaccinations to prevent the spread of more transmissible variants of the virus arriving from other countries. And they urge the public to remain vigilant about wearing masks and taking other precautions.

A total of 378 group home residents had tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of Tuesday, Jan. 26 – more than double the 182 who had been reported COVID-positive on Nov. 2, according to statistics compiled from RI Department of Health data by the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH). But there were only about 15 new cases between Jan. 20 and 27, or about half the pace of the weekly increase in mid-December. Among all group home residents in privately-run homes, 31 percent have tested positive since the pandemic began 10 months ago.

A total of 612 group home staff had tested positive by the end of the day Jan. 27, or 16 more than the 596 reported the previous week, according to data compiled by BHDDH. During the prior week, the number of cases among staff had jumped by nearly 50.

The cumulative number of hospitalizations among residents and staff and the number of deaths has remained constant since early January. At that time, 84 residents and 19 staffers have been hospitalized since the pandemic began. Only one person is currently in the hospital. A total of 14 persons have died, most of them group home residents.