The report, written by public health authorities including representatives of the state and Montgomery County health departments, concluded that long-term care facilities should investigate single cases of invasive strep infection and make sure good infection-control practices are in place.
It said the facility involved had "multiple infection prevention deficiencies" that included ineffective staff "hand-hygiene practices." That, combined with vulnerable patients and the likely introduction of strep through more than one source, contributed to the extended outbreak.
Group A strep is a common bacterium that usually causes relatively mild illnesses such as strep throat or impetigo, a skin infection. The invasive form goes beyond the normal surface infections and spreads to blood, muscles, or the lungs. It can cause toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis, the so-called flesh-eating disease.
The report did not name the nursing facility involved, but said it had 150 beds and specialized in ventilator weaning, spinal-cord injury care, and short-term rehabilitation. The state and Montgomery County health departments refused to identify the facility.
Rhea Goodwin, administrator of AristaCare at Meadow Springs in Plymouth Meeting, the only nursing facility in Montgomery County that matches the report's description, confirmed that her facility had an outbreak of strep. She said AristaCare was one of only seven "specialized rehabilitation nursing facilities" in Pennsylvania and cares for "some of the most acute and medically complex nursing-home patients in the state."
She said there was no "direct link" between the bacteria and the deaths of the two patients.
