Ken Loredo didn’t find out about the 2 dozen COVID-19 cases at the long-term care center where his mom lives up until the Illinois Department of Public Health released the information for the first time over the weekend.
“We hadn’t heard anything at all,” Loredo stated. “I was quite shocked.”
Loredo stated his mother has had fantastic therapy at Glenview Terrace, and the caretakers at the suburban center have actually helped her get back on her feet.
“Simply more transparency would be excellent,” Loredo said.
On Sunday, the Pritzker administration released details of the variety of cases and deaths connected to each long-term care facility in Illinois.
The data– which can be browsed here– highlights the level of the pandemic’s reach inside the state’s retirement home, showing a minimum of 186 long-lasting care centers in 22 counties reporting at least one case. In all, at least 1,860 cases can be connected to nursing homes, with 286 deaths. That’s nearly a 4th of all coronavirus deaths reported in Illinois.
At Glenview Balcony, the state reported 24 coronavirus cases and 7 deaths.
Loredo stated he talks with his mother daily. She had not stated anything about coronavirus infections at the facility, he stated, but told him about homeowners being moved and others who passed away. “But she didn’t state why.”
About two weeks earlier, Loredo’s mother was moved out of her room since her roommate had a fever, he said, in addition to a neighboring resident.
“I was like, OK, well I haven’t heard anything from the facility so maybe they’re OKAY,” he said. “Maybe this person is just sick. You understand, it takes place.”
However with the Sunday release of the information, Loredo is questioning if those homeowners were infected with the coronavirus.
“If that individual that was in her room died from that, and my mother was in that room with her, I would have at least expected them, if possible, to let us know: Your mother was in a room with somebody that was positive so we’re going to be watching on her for a number of weeks simply to make sure,” Loredo said. “However nothing.”
Loredo stated he’s still digesting the news, but he hopes the center will offer homeowners and affected households more details about cases among staff and residents.
“All of this time I was thinking, oh, well perhaps they didn’t have any cases there,” he said. “Possibly they got lucky. Maybe they got ahead of it.”
Loredo stated he wishes to understand if the facility is testing homeowners, consisting of those who do not have signs, along with how the facility is separating locals who test positive.
He does not wish to worry his mother and hopes he will be able to check out once again. “It’s simply very, very hard on them,” he stated. “It’s tough on us.”
In launching the current information, Illinois officials said they prepared to improve screening and fortify staffing at assisted living home, while also defending their preliminary efforts to attempt to stem the infection.
Prior to the weekend, the state had actually told assisted living home they didn’t need to test anyone else as soon as somebody has actually evaluated favorable at a center. There are other ways homeowners and staff can– and have– gotten checked, explaining the numerous cases reported at many facilities.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Dr. Ngozi Ezike speak at a press conference, April 19, 2020, at the Thompson Center( Brian Cassella/ Chicago Tribune)
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, stated the state will now be sending more test products to the centers to catch infections earlier and suppress the spread, including “aggressive testing of personnel.”
Her agency later informed the Tribune it will prioritize screening citizens and personnel in homes with no recognized cases to more quickly separate those discovered with the infection. For homes currently with recognized cases, the agency will check staff to see who can continue to care for residents, while dealing with symptomatic residents as if they have the virus, even if not evaluated.
The retirement home data will be launched when a week, according to the state. Since of how reports filter from local to state health officials, what’s released may not be the most up to date. And there can be wide variations. The state reports one case and 2 deaths at Cicero’s City View Multi-Care. The town of Cicero website reports 12 homeowners and 26 staffers checking favorable, with 6 residents dying.
That stresses Rosemary Payne, whose mom was a homeowner at the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook for more than 3 years. The state data show 54 cases at the center and 10 deaths.
As cases of COVID-19 mounted there, the facility stated her 94- year-old mom evaluated negative. A few days later on, Payne stated she got a call saying her mom was passing away. Payne, who stated she is a signed up nurse, came to the center and listened to her mother with a stethoscope.
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“She had whatever that COVID-19 clients were having,” Payne said. Her mom passed away March28 “I think, if my mommy’s going to die from this, at least count her as a statistic. Offer her that much.”
Payne said she is seriously concerned that the data of COVID-19 cases is manipulated and cases have actually been undercounted. “Everyone who headed out of there in a body bag went out with COVID-19,” Payne stated.
Payne stated she isn’t naive about how rapidly infections can spread out in care facilities. However she’s concerned the facility was attempting to sweep possible cases under the rug, and the level of infection control was lacking.
“I believe that there’s a lower bar for assisted living home in the state,” Payne stated.
The Sunday information release was an action in the ideal direction, she said. “No retirement home desires that black eye, that bad publicity,” Payne said. “if it’s favorable, it’s favorable.”
