south shore

111 Patients at South Shore Assisted-Living Facility Test Positive for Coronavirus

NBCUniversal, Inc.

Officials say 111 of the 158 residents at a South Shore assisted-living facility have tested positive for coronavirus.

The Symphony Care Network, who operates the facility, announced the test results in collaboration with University of Chicago Medicine on Tuesday evening. According to the company, preliminary results indicate that 111 patients at the facility tested positive for the virus.

The company’s COVID-19 Task Force is taking “aggressive steps” to treat patients, some of whom aren’t exhibiting symptoms, the company said in an email.

“Collaborating with UChicago Medicine is critical, and our patients could not be in better hands,” David Hartman, CEO of Symphony, said in a statement. “On behalf of our patients, we especially thank Dr. Emily Landon and the rest of the team at UChicago Medicine for their expertise and assistance.”

According to the company, officials took “aggressive steps” to protect patients before the pandemic began, suspending outside visits, collaborating with the University of Chicago and the Illinois Department of Public Health on testing, and isolating COVID-19 patients in separate units.

Even with those precautions, several Symphony facilities have been among the many Illinois nursing homes and assisted-living facilities that have seen COVID-19 outbreaks. A total of 81 coronavirus cases have been reported at Symphony’s Joliet facility, where 21 residents and two employees have died.

At the Symphony facility in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, five people have died and 20 cases of the virus have been reported, according to data from the state of Illinois.

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