3 residents of Atria Park assisted living facility remain hospitalized after norovirus outbreak

Officials at the Atria Park assisted living facility in Great Neck Plaza on Tuesday confirmed three of the four residents complaining of gastrointestinal distress had tested positive for a norovirus and remained hospitalized.

The fourth resident hospitalized Sunday proved to have no symptoms, Atria Park officials said, and returned to the facility on Great Neck Road Monday.

Neither the Nassau County Department of Health Services nor the New York State Department of Health have confirmed testing conducted at the facility Monday proved positive for the norovirus. A request for clarification on the testing status was not immediately answered Tuesday by the Nassau health department. The conditions of the three hospitalized patients were unknown, though fire department officials previously said all were transported in “stable condition,” and none of the symptoms appeared life-threatening.

In a statement Tuesday, Atria Park said no other residents at the Great Neck facility have exhibited any symptoms of illness.

“We remain in contact and are following the guidance of the local Department of Health and NYSDOH,” Atria Park said in the statement, adding: “Escalated infections-control protocols remain in place … including regular screening and monitoring.”

The statement also said: “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.”

Norovirus is a “very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anyone can be sickened by norovirus, sometimes referred to simply as a stomach bug, according to the CDC's website. It is unrelated to the flu.

Nassau County police, volunteers and EMS personnel from the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department all responded Sunday about 6:45 p.m. to the facility after a resident complained of “feeling ill.”

While responders were at the scene, Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael F. Uttaro said several other residents began complaining about similar symptoms. As a result, the fire marshal's hazmat team was called in about 7:30 p.m. to test for possible carbon monoxide poisoning, Uttaro said.

Those tests proved negative, he said.

Three of the residents were transported to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset and another to St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center in Flower Hill, all suffering from gastrointestinal distress, officials said.

Uttaro said the patients were all transported in stable condition. Their identities were not released,

After ruling out carbon monoxide poisoning, Uttaro said officials were looking at a foodborne issue or maybe a norovirus as a cause of the illnesses.

Fire officials were not aware of any prior incidents at the facility.

Atria operates more than a dozen assisted living locations throughout Long Island and New York City. There have been no reports of similar issues at the other facilities this week.

In a statement Monday, the Nassau health department confirmed inspectors had launched an investigation into the potential cause of the incidents.

But, as of late Tuesday morning only Atria Park had confirmed the cause was related to the norovirus.

CORRECTION: The location of St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center was incorrect in a previous version of this story due to an editing error.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”