While the media and public health officials have reported outbreaks at dozens of facilities, other information vital to families’ and doctors’ decisions about how to deal with older patients is going unreported. “That’s just not right. It’s not ethical. It’s not humane,” said John BaRoss, who pulled his mother out of a long-term care facility in West Orange, N.J. Also: At a nursing home in Newark, N.J., all 94 residents are presumed to have the virus.
The Washington Post: More Than 140 Nursing Homes Have Had Coronavirus Cases. Federal Officials Won’t Release A List.
More than 140 nursing homes in the United States have at least one resident who tested positive for the coronavirus, according to federal government figures released earlier this week, but exactly which homes are affected and where they are, federal officials won’t say. Their refusal to release the information has angered families, industry watchdogs and emergency personnel who say it deprives them of critical information as they try to ensure the safety of nursing home residents, who are among the most vulnerable to the disease. (Whoriskey and Sacchetti, 3/25)
NBC News: Entire Senior Home In New Jersey, 94 People, Presumed To Have Coronavirus
An entire New Jersey nursing home is presumed to be infected with coronavirus, forcing everyone from the facility to be evacuated on Wednesday, officials said. At least 24 of 94 residents and patients of St. Joseph’s Senior Home in Woodbridge, about 20 miles south of Newark, have tested positive for coronavirus and the other 70 clients are also believed to have the virus, authorities said. The first positive came back on March 17 and at least one positive test has come back “everyday thereafter,” said John Hagerty, a spokesman for the city of Woodbridge. (Li, 3/25)
The Daily Beast: Three Nuns Left To Handle Nearly 100 Seniors Presumed To Have Coronavirus In New Jersey Care Home
“The hardest part is knowing that they probably don’t understand the weight of the problem, so they feel abandoned,” Henryka Roman, the daughter of a 94-year-old St. Joseph’s resident, told The Daily Beast. Her mother, Maria Zygmaniak, tested positive for the coronavirus after exhibiting symptoms such as a fever and cough. Zygmaniak, who has been a resident at the home for seven years, only speaks Polish. “She is in stable condition now, but who knows if she is going to survive this. We are not able to see her, and she probably doesn’t understand why we can’t see her,” Roman said. (Tucker and Olding, 3/25)
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