CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Health Care Association’s CEO, Marty Wright, issued the following statement:
“The West Virginia Health Care Association, which represents several of our state’s assisted living facilities, is supportive of Governor Justice and his efforts to have all assisted living residents and staff in the state tested for COVID-19. As with the statewide testing in nursing homes, West Virginia will be the first in the nation to implement statewide testing of all assisted living residents and staff.
As we saw with nursing homes, the testing of all residents and staff is key to identifying and isolating the virus before it has a chance to spread. This is especially true now that we know a significant number of those that test positive are asymptomatic.
The West Virginia Health Care Association is working with WV DHHR, the Bureau for Public Health and the National Guard to assist in the execution of this next round of testing. We thank them and all our state and local agency partners for recognizing the importance of protecting our long-term care residents and staff.”
— The West Virginia Health Care Association is West Virginia’s largest trade association representing nursing facilities and assisted living communities. The WVHCA is dedicated to helping maintain high standards of care for licensed long-term care facilities through leadership, education and advocacy. Its member facilities employ more than 18,000 people and care for around 10,000 West Virginians daily