Four residents of the Atria Park assisted-living facility in Great Neck Plaza were hospitalized Sunday while complaining of “gastrointestinal discomfort,” Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro said.
Uttaro said the Manhasset Lakeville Fire Department received a call for a sick female on the second floor of the Community Room of the facility at 6:49 p.m. Sunday evening. MLFD EMS Capt. Lee Genser requested MLFD fire units to respond after the initial EMS crew encountered more than one resident complaining of gastrointestinal discomfort.
Ambulances from Great Neck Vigilant Fire Dept., New Hyde Park FD, Port Washington FD, and Nassau County Emergency Ambulance Bureau were called in to respond since more than one resident felt ill.
The Nassau County Fire Marshal Hazardous Materials Response Team was requested by MLFD Chief Michael Farrone at the scene to respond with multi-gas-detection meters to investigate if carbon monoxide or the possibility of any odors were causing the problems residents were having.
The Fire department and NCFM Hazmat team found no issues with the air quality.
Uttaro said four residents were transported to local hospitals for evaluation with three going to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and one to St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn.
As of Tuesday, one resident has been returned to the facility with no symptoms, Newsday reported.
The current status of the three hospitalized patients was not disclosed. However, fire officials had previously reported that all patients were transported in a stable condition, with no indications of life-threatening symptoms.
The Nassau County Health Department was notified of the incident and is coordinating with the state Department of Health and the Atria staff to determine the cause of the norovirus illness outbreak.
“Their investigation is continuing,” Uttaro said in a statement.
A norovirus is characterized as a highly contagious virus inducing vomiting and diarrhea by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“There have been no additional reported cases of illness associated with this event,” said Alyssa Zohrabian, the spokesperson for the Nassau County Department of Health, “NCDOH continues to collaborate with the facility and the New York State Department of Health to closely monitor the situation.”
“Occurrences of gastrointestinal illness in congregate settings, such as assisted living facilities and nursing homes, are not uncommon,” Zohrabian said, “To address such situations, standard protocols and operating procedures are in place and are swiftly enforced to curb the transmission of illness.”
Blank Slate Media calls to the Atria Park facility were answered by initial operators, but were told the director was bombarded as of Tuesday morning by queries and was hard to reach.
“We remain in contact and are following the guidance of the local Department of Health and NYSDOH. Escalated infections-control protocols remain in place in our memory care neighborhood, including regular screening and monitoring,” Atria Park said in the statement to Newsday.
“We know that the norovirus is more common in the winter months, and our infection control protocols are thorough and designed to be implemented quickly when symptoms are exhibited,” the facility said.