A Roselawn nursing home has suffered a major COVID-19 outbreak in recent months, appearing to account for nearly all of rural Newton County’s reported deaths, federal data shows.

Aperion Care Demotte, 10352 N 600 E, reported as many as 10 COVID-19 deaths as of May 31 to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. None appear to have occurred in recent weeks. It also reported 38 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date. Information on how many have since recovered is not included.

Newton County, with a population of 14,000, reported 10 COVID-19 deaths and 82 cases total Thursday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. Its death count appeared to spike in early May.

Aperion Care declined to comment on the Demotte facility.

“Aperion Care will not address any specific cases or incidents, as it is our policy not to do so,” spokeswoman Heather Levine said in an emailed statement.

The company, with other facilities in Gary and Michigan City, is following federal guidelines “including following strict hand-washing procedures, and in many circumstances, wearing masks, gowns and gloves when interacting with residents who are sick,” she said. It is also “in close contact with the local and state health departments and are following their guidance.”

They have a “certified infection preventionist through the Association for Professionals in Infection Control” to assist with putting federal recommendations into place, Levine said. In addition to banning visitors, they screen staff members each work shift. They are also updating family via automated messages every day, she said.

Since Indiana’s COVID-19 outbreak began in March, state officials have largely refused to publicly reveal which nursing homes had outbreaks since early April when they acknowledged a major outbreak at an Anderson nursing home. Indiana require facilities to update family representatives.

Indiana has released only statewide totals online, but a recent federal government report counted nearly 200 more COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes than the online state dashboard. State officials say those deaths have likely been accounted for and are investigating the discrepancy.

Last month, Aperion Care Demotte said it had started testing all residents and staff and would continue to restrict visitation.

“We have begun testing all residents and staff members for COVID-19, even those who are not showing any symptoms. We are hopeful that by doing this we can continue to reduce the spread of this disease amongst our residents and the community as a whole,” Aperion Care Demotte said in a corporate statement posted to Facebook on May 18.

Despite Indiana’s lack of per-facility public data, some clues were apparent in Newton County.

“The Newton County Health Department has been notified that a significant increase of COVID-19 cases is occurring at a long-term care facility in Lincoln Township in Newton County,” according to a release dated April 13.

“The health department will continue to assist the facility as response efforts are ongoing. The facility has been under a visitor restriction since early March in an effort to reduce the potential for further community spread of COVID-19.”

Aperion Care Demotte’s Facebook page celebrated its first patient recoveries, showing a man holding a sign “We recovered from COVID-19” in a post dated April 30.

“We are thrilled to announce that we celebrated our first COVID-19 recoveries today! Thank you to everyone who has shown us their support during this difficult time,” it said. “There aren’t enough words to express how grateful we are!”

Newton County Health Department Public Health Nurse Kim Durham confirmed the outbreak week.

“The Newton County Health Department worked closely with Aperion Care DeMotte during their COVID-19 outbreak by conducting case investigations, providing updated response guidance as it became available, and providing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks, gowns, and face shields as the facility needed,” she said. “The Indiana State Department of Health also assisted the facility with on-site test collection, infection control, and outbreak case reporting.”

As Indiana has kept nursing home data under wraps, officials may be hesitant about what information they should release. Without federal data, when Newton County’s death toll appeared to spike in early May, Durham had declined to comment when asked if there was a nursing home outbreak.

“At this time, it is our policy that we only verify the number of deaths within the county, and reassure the public that we continue to investigate and conduct contact tracing on all of the positive cases within the county,” she said then via email.

Along with federal data, state records show Aperion Care Demotte appears to be the only facility located in Newton County’s Lincoln Township, just west of the Jasper County line on N 1200 W. The federal government recently required nursing homes and long-term care facilities to directly report cases and deaths. Not all Northwest Indiana facilities have yet reported data.

Nationwide, the federal government estimates at least 31,700 COVID-19 deaths have occurred in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. Those figures likely are not the full picture, since it acknowledged at least 2,000 facilities have not yet reported. It also is not requiring facilities to report data before May 6, but some may choose to do so, it said.

Other estimates by USA Today concluded over 40,000 or 40% of the nation’s COVID-19 deaths have happened in a nursing home or long-term care facility.

To find federal per-facility information, Google “CMS COVID-19 nursing home data,” click the top link and scroll down to an interactive map, “search for a nursing home.” If your nursing home is not found, use the “Nursing Home Data Set” spreadsheet included at the website’s bottom. Click “filter,” type in the facility name, then scroll down and click “apply.”