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Catholic senior care facilities in Twin Cities area among those with COVID-19 deaths

Two Catholic senior care facilities in the Twin Cities area are among those hit hard by COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. At least 12 residents of St. Therese of New Hope and 12 at Catholic Eldercare in Minneapolis have died of complications from the illness, reports indicated.

Residents who died at St. Therese were between 82 and 96 years old, according to death records reviewed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Most died from pneumonia and other respiratory complications caused by COVID-19.

At one point as the number of deaths have grown, 70 percent of Minnesotans who had died from complications of COVID-19, or 133 cases out of 160, were in long-term care living settings, according to Fox 9 News, and most who died had underlying health conditions.

The Minnesota Department of Health reported April 23 that the number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the state numbered 200.

Despite using recommended cleaning practices and social distancing, and restricting visitors and use of communal areas, seniors in long-term care facilities face challenges. Living in relatively close proximity is one risk. And older adults and people with underlying medical conditions have a higher risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19.

Catholic Eldercare is posting information on its website about COVID-19, including weekly letters to family members and friends. The most recent letter, dated April 21, said there had been12 deaths in long-term care and reported no active cases of COVID-19 in its assisted living or independent living facilities. As of April 21, it had eight lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its long-term care facility.

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The letter included a statement from Jan Malcolm, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health. The statement was released when her department announced the living locations with confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The statement began, “Being on the list does not mean that the facility is deficient in any way or has done something wrong any more than we would say that there was something done wrong by a family with a household member that has a case. These are our most vulnerable residents … without the care and support of the staff who are working with them, we are going to have an additional crisis on our hands. It’s incumbent on all of us to understand that these facilities are working very hard to protect their residents and their staff, and we continue to work very closely with them to do everything possible to prevent the introduction and spread of the virus.”

In a message posted April 23 on St. Therese’s website, officials at the facility extended their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of residents who died from COVID-19. It also listed “every possible precaution” its staff takes to stop the spread of COVID-19, including:

  • Isolating COVID-19 positive residents wherever possible
  • Monitoring asymptomatic residents and testing where appropriate
  • Instructing employees to treat all exposed residents as if they have been infected; wearing the appropriate CDC-recommended masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) during interactions
  • Closing the building to all visitors
  • Canceling group activities — including those led by third-party partners
  • Increasing sanitization of high-frequency areas and common spaces
  • Urging residents to practice social distancing and frequent hand-washing
  • Screening all employees for illness, including taking employee’s temperature at the start of and midway through each shift; sending anyone with COVID-19 symptoms home to self-quarantine per guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
 


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