Teams deploy to support RivCo care facilities after nurses abandon patients

April 14, 2020 Trevor Montgomery

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, Calif. — Specialized teams designed to educate and equip employees at licensed care facilities throughout Riverside County will start visiting the locations today.

The four SOS (Skilled Nursing Facilities Outreach Support) teams consist of workers from American Medical Response and other healthcare partners who could be involved in patient care, said Kim Saruwatari, director of Public Health.

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The teams will target specific regions – Northwest, Southwest, Central and Eastern – in the county and work with staff members at each facility to demonstrate proper safety techniques, provide proper safety gear and educate them about COVID-19 to dispel rumors and correct erroneous information.

“There has been so much incorrect information that has spread that many employees in these facilities are scared to show up for work,” said Saruwatari. “Information is power, and by providing these employees with accurate information about how COVID-19 is and is not spread, they will be confident when they report to work.”

Saruwatari said the teams will also provide facilities with the proper personal protection equipment.

The target team concept is aimed at preventing a situation that occurred earlier this month at a Riverside rehabilitation facility.

“These teams are vital to address the pressing needs at group healthcare sites. The health and safety of the employees and residents at these facilities are critical,” said Chair V. Manuel Perez, Fourth District Supervisor.

More than 80 patients, including 34 who had earlier tested positive for COVID-19, were evacuated from the Magnolia Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and transferred to different locations throughout the county.

The previous day, operators of the facility informed the county that most of the regular staff did not show up for their scheduled day shift, prompting health officials to quickly find nurses and others to fill in.

When workers failed to show up for the night shift, Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, ordered the facility evacuated.

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Saruwatari said the four teams will also work with the various facilities to determine if they could be at risk for operational impacts.

Rehabilitation facilities and nursing homes present a challenge for health officials due to the age and health conditions of the residents, as well as their close proximity to each other. The county prioritizes investigations in these facilities due to the high risk of serious illness that outbreaks pose.

Submitted by Riverside University Health System

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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 16 grandchildren.