Nearly half the confirmed coronavirus deaths so far in Summit County were residents at one Akron nursing home.

A spokesperson for Ohio Living Rockynol confirmed Wednesday that seven residents of the Akron retirement community have died from COVID-19 infections.

As of Wednesday, Summit County was reporting 15 confirmed deaths from coronavirus.

Melissa Dardinger, corporate manager of public relations for Ohio Living, said that another five residents are being treated in hospitals for coronavirus.

Dardinger said eight staff members and four contract staff members also have tested positive for COVID-19.

All Ohio Living Rockynol employees who were previously on quarantine are now healthy and back to work, she said.

"When we received our first case, even though we were preparing for that eventuality, we knew it was something that could turn out to be more involved," Dardinger said.

At least 700 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Ohio nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, but the state would not release the number of deaths related to the virus when asked for that number Wednesday.

Dr. Amy Acton, the director of the Ohio Department of Health, signed a statewide order Wednesday that requires nursing homes, assisted-living centers and facilities for people with developmental disabilities to notify the families of residents within 24 hours when there are positive COVID-19 cases in one of those facilities.

The state also is releasing a list of all facilities with confirmed cases on the Ohio Department of Health’s website, but that list wasn’t posted as of early Wednesday evening.

Summit County Public Health Medical Director Dr. Erika Sobolewski on Wednesday declined to say how many of Summit County’s COVID-19 deaths are tied to long-term care facilities like Rockynol.

The numbers are still so low, she said, she didn’t want any facility to be singled out.

But she said she would reconsider by the time of the county’s weekly briefing Thursday.

Dardinger said that the company has informed Rockynol staff and residents’ families about the infections and wants to be transparent about the cases.

But federal rules limit what can be disclosed about individual medical cases, she said. That has limited what information can be released publicly.

"I would like everybody to know that we believe in transparency first and foremost," Dardinger said.

Sobolewski said Rockynol was one of the first long-term care facilities impacted locally by COVID-19.

Eventually, she said, COVID-19 is going to be everywhere and the better question is how living facilities respond.

"I can’t tell you how receptive (Rockynol) has been, how much love and compassion they’ve had for their patients" as they’ve worked to care for those infected and to protect those residents who aren’t, she said.

Sobolewski said she’s been in contact with Rockynol officials daily. The Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid also have visited.

Among other things, they’ve helped Rockynol cluster its infected residents away from healthy residents. Rockynol staff members who take care of those infected do not care for residents who are asymptomatic.

Additionally, they’ve helped supply Rockynol with additional COVID-19 tests and personal protective equipment, both of which remain in short supply. Only symptomatic residents of Rockynol are tested, she said.

Sobolewski said the public needs to remember that the people who live in long-term care or assisted living are there because they are not well enough to live on their own. Many have pre-existing conditions that make them particularly vulnerable.

Additionally, many of the residents have already made end-of-life decisions, including do-not-resuscitate orders, that would prevent ventilation, a common treatment for those seriously ill with coronavirus.

Sobolewski said long-term care facilities have a difficult time keeping the virus out. It’s not as simple as blocking one point of entry.

"Every time a staff member comes from outside, they can carry in the virus," she said, adding that many caregivers are younger and healthier and may show little or no signs of being sick.

Every time a new resident is admitted — which happens frequently at any nursing home — that resident could become COVID-19 symptomatic days later, she said.

"Rockynol has done a stellar job of identifying those who are infected and taking the very best care of their patients," she said.

Rockynol is accepting COVID-19 positive patients who are discharged from the hospital and need continued care, Dardinger said.

The admissions are being made on a case-by-case basis. Rockynol is currently caring for three such individuals.

Dardinger said the company has designated a specific wing of Rockynol and other units to care for the COVID-19 patients who have been released from hospitals.

More than 220 residents occupy the Rockynol facility on West Market Street.

Dardinger said the company has purchased mobile ultraviolet technology to clean its 12 locations, but hasn’t received the units it ordered more than three weeks ago.

Ohio Living also has installed ultraviolet germicidal irradiation equipment in its skilled nursing and assisted living ventilation systems. The equipment is used by hospitals.

Dardinger did not release details on when the seven residents died and said the company is still determining how to comply with Gov. Mike DeWine’s orders on information while also complying with federal disclosure laws.

She said Rockynol staff holds daily calls to go over questions from families of the facility’s residents. Coronavirus orders currently in place forbid family from visiting their relatives.

"Immediately after the no-visit [order], we started virtual visits with iPads," Dardinger said.

Reporter Jacob Myers from The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this report. Alan Ashworth can be emailed at aashworth@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.