visualization

Long-term Care Facilities

overview

Long-term care facilities include nursing homes, assisted living, and adult or family care homes. Older adults, aged 65 and older, are the predominant age group living in these facilities and are at elevated risk for complications caused by COVID-19. Between March and October 2020, adults over age 65 accounted for 81% of COVID-19 related deaths in NC.

Long-term care facilities in NC are points of interest on this COVID-19 dashboard because they have been linked to COVID-19 clusters in NC. These facilities represent environments with a high potential for SARS-CoV-2 transmission and COVID-19 burden because they are enclosed spaces, allow people to stay for a long time, and can be crowded. The potential for transmission may also be increased if the facility houses medically compromised individuals and/or requires close contact between residents and caretakers.

The map below shows the locations of long-term care facilities in NC and the distribution of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths by county for residents of all ages. Click on a county to view zip code level data on COVID-19.

All data are preliminary and subject to change. Corrections and updates are made as cases are being investigated and reported. The most current data are available on the NC DHHS COVID-19 dashboard.

To see how to use, FAQs and definitions, click here.

Stay tuned. Updates for Omicron are coming soon.

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What does this visualization show me?

This map shows the locations of long-term facilities in North Carolina and differences in selected COVID-19 measures by county and zip code.

Each county is shaded to represent the value of the selected COVID-19 measure in that county. Click on the county to see COVID-19 measures by zip code. Each colored circle represents one facility. You can see additional details for a county, ZIP code, or facility by hovering over it on the map.

COVID-19 cumulative cases and deaths are shown dating back to June 2, 2020.

How does this visualization help us understand COVID-19?

Long-term care facilities are indoor spaces, have a high concentration of older age groups, offer care that necessitates close contact, and have populations with other illnesses that are known risk factors for worse outcomes from COVID-19. This map identifies locations for policy makers and public health experts to study and provide support efforts. For current data on outbreaks in long-term care and congregate living facilities, consult the NCDHHS outbreak dashboard and map (DHHS outbreak data: LINK).

NOTE: This map cannot tell us if variation in testing and/or the number and capacity of these facilities is responsible for higher or lower apparent burden of COVID-19 in a county or zip code. The relationship between the number of facilities and the true burden of COVID-19cannot be determined using this map.

Where do the data come from?

COVID-19 county-level data are from The New York Times, based on reports from state and local health agencies (LINK). The New York Times states that “all cases and deaths are counted on the date they are first announced.” Zip code level data is from WRAL (LINK), with the original source being DHHS (LINK). WRAL compiles DHHS data daily.

Zip code level population counts were from ESRI Demographics provided by WRAL and NCDHHS.

County level population counts were from July 2020; provided by NC Office of State Budget and Management (LINK).

For long-term care facilities, location data came from the NC Division of Health Service Regulation (LINK), which regulates and licenses these facilities.

How were the measures calculated?

The 7-day average represents the average of the daily number of newly detected COVID-19 cases per 10,000 people in that county (or zip code) over the past 7 days (i.e., 7-day average of cases per day per 10k population).

Cumulative cases is a running count of the total number of detected COVID-19 cases per 10k since June 2, 2020. Using a denominator of 10,000 residents allows us to make comparisons between counties with differing population sizes.

How often are the data updated?

All four COVID-19 measures shown in this map are updated every Wednesday.

Select a COVID-19 health measure from the drop-down box above the map
Choose a specific 7-day average date by moving the slider or clicking the arrows to select a date. The date in the box is the date that the 7-day average ended on
Hover over a county with your mouse to see the 7-day average in that county.
Click on a county to see the 7-day average by zip code
Each colored circle represents a different facility. Hover over a colored circle to see which facility it represents
If you want to only see a particular type of facility, select it from the Points of Interest drop-down. Clicking on the type of facility in the Points of Interest legend and choosing ‘keep only’ will also show only that type of facility. To undo this action choose “All” from the top drop-down.
To zoom in or out on the map roll the mouse wheel in or out or use the + or - on the left side of the map. Clicking the home icon will return the map to the original view.
To download the data click the download icon in the lower right hand corner of the map and select the appropriate file format.

TERMS USED

Someone that has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

According to NCDHHS data, “COVID-19 deaths include people who have had a positive molecular (PCR) or antigen test for COVID-19, who died without fully recovering from COVID-19, and who had no alternative cause of death identified. Deaths are reported by hospitals and clinicians directly to the local and state health departments.”

The total number of cases that have been diagnosed up to a certain point in time (data on this dashboard started on June 2, 2020 unless noted otherwise).

The average daily number of newly detected COVID-19 cases over a 7-day period.

A facility that provides services for adults who do not want to or are unable to live on their own. In NC, this includes adult-care homes, nursing homes, multi-unit assisted living homes, or nursing homes. (See definitions on NCDHHS)

The findings and conclusions on this page are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health. The North Carolina Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool (NC DETECT) is an advanced, statewide public health surveillance system. NC DETECT is supported by the North Carolina Division of Public Health through a federal Public Health Emergency Preparedness Grant and is managed through a collaboration between NC DPH and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of Emergency Medicine's Carolina Center for Health Informatics.