Two Youngstown nursing homes saw spikes in patient cases of coronavirus this week.

Canfield Healthcare nursing home on Canfield Road on the city’s West Side saw 44 patients and four staff members testing positive.

The facility had no virus cases in the data the Ohio Department of Health released last week on its website.

Fred Strattmann, spokesman for Canfield Healthcare, said studies have shown one of the biggest contributing factors in nursing home outbreaks of COVID-19 is the spread in the community at large.

He said an isolation unit is in place in Canfield Healthcare where COVID-19 residents are being treated. “We’re following a very aggressive treatment protocol,” Strattmann said.

“All of the residents who are COVID positive when clinically appropriate are receiving anti-coagulant medication to reduce the risk of blood clots and strokes, which have been a factor in many COVID fatalities, according to medical research,” he said.

They also are being treated with amino acid supplements to “energize their immune system and assist with the recovery process” and also using other strategies, he said.

He noted that 30 to 50 percent of people who test positive for the virus have no symptoms.

Erin Bishop, Youngstown health commissioner, said she has received calls from family members of patients expressing concern about the rise in cases. She and officials with the Ohio Department of Health will have a virtual meeting with Canfield Healthcare this morning to discuss the issues surrounding the spike.

Windsor at Guardian Healthcare nursing home on Belmont Avenue on Youngstown’s North Side now has 10 patient cases of the virus and three staff cases after having none the previous week.

Mahoning County nursing home virus cases also increased outside of Youngstown this week.

Only one Mahoning County nursing home had at least three cases of the virus last week, but seven facilities have at least three cases this week — three of them in Youngstown. The others are in North Jackson, North Lima, Austintown and Poland.

Park Vista nursing home of Youngstown was the only Mahoning County facility last week with at least three cases. This week, it continues to have 13 patient cases and no staff cases.

The seven Mahoning County facilities with cases have 96 infected patients and staff.

Meanwhile, Trumbull and Columbiana county nursing homes and assisted-living facilities continue to have a low number of cases this week.

Trumbull County had no facilities with at least three cases, and Columbiana County has one. Brookdale Salem Nursing Home has three patient cases and one staff case.

Mahoning County’s increased nursing home cases are reflected in the most recent data for all of Mahoning County, which showed cases rising by 18 on Wednesday. That is double the number of new cases Trumbull had.

Mahoning County has seen an increase of 163 cases in the past week; Trumbull saw an increase of 93.

Mahoning County’s increases also are consistent with what happened last week in nursing homes in the state as a whole.

There were 736 patient cases of the virus a week ago in Ohio, but that rose to 917 this week. There were 361 staff cases a week ago, rising to 547 this week.

Columbiana County had two additional deaths this week at long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, but Mahoning and Trumbull had no new deaths. Columbiana County has 52, Mahoning 191 and Trumbull 77.

The Trumbull Correctional Institution in Leavittsburg and Northeast Ohio Correctional Center on Hubbard Road in Youngstown reported no inmate cases this week.

ODH STATISTICS

Only facilities with three or more cases are listed. The “total” cases listed below are the total number the facility has had since April 15.

MAHONING COUNTY

¯ Antonine Village assisted living in North Jackson, 3 patient cases, 0 staff cases; total of 3 patient cases, 0 staff cases.

¯ Assumption Village nursing home in North Lima, 6 patient cases, 4 staff cases; total of 9 patient cases and 17 staff cases.

¯ Austinwoods nursing home in Austintown, 4 patient cases, 2 staff cases; total of 6 patient cases, 6 staff cases.

¯ Canfield Healthcare nursing home, Youngstown, 44 patient cases, 4 staff cases; total of 57 patient cases and 10 staff cases.

¯ Center for Rehabilitation at Hampton Woods nursing home in Poland, 1 patient case, 2 staff cases; total of 1 patient case, 3 staff cases.

¯ Park Vista nursing home in Youngstown, 13 patient cases and 0 staff cases; total of 29 patient cases and 11 staff cases.

¯ Windsor at Guardian Healthcare nursing home in Youngstown, 10 patient cases, 3 staff cases; total of 15 patient cases, 4 staff cases.

TRUMBULL COUNTY

No facility has at least three cases this week.

COLUMBIANA COUNTY

¯ Brookdale Salem Nursing Home, 3 patients and 1 staff, total of 12 patients and 3 staff.

erunyan@tribtoday.com