Several families are demanding answers after they say the rehabilitation center their loved ones are staying in failed to inform them of people inside the facility testing positive for COVID-19.
Loretta Brady says Westchester Health and Rehabilitation Center officials did not tell her, or other family members, that positive COVID-19 cases had been reported at the facility for at least a week.
Ultimately, Brady’s mother ended up contracting the virus.
“I kept calling and they kept saying my mother was fine,” Brady said. “I was hearing from other people that the CNA said that she had the coronavirus.”
The family of another resident, 83-year-old Carrie Claybon, say that she died Sunday after contracting the virus. They also say that the facility kept them in the dark about what was going on until it was too late.
Community activist Andrew Holmes says he has received several phone calls from families, telling him similar stories about how they were not notified that there were cases of the virus reported at the facility.
“This facility, really, is not safe, and I’m understanding that some of the management knew about this virus,” Holmes said. “They knew that these people have gone to the hospital and tested positive.”
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Officials at Westchester say 11 residents in all have tested positive for the virus, and have all been moved to hospitals outside of the facility.
In a statement, the facility’s management said:
“We are working diligently to take heightened precautions, and to adhere to protocols outlined by the CDC. We are also working closely with our local health department to prevent exposure and to protect all our residents and staff at the center.”
Officials did not answer questions about specific cases, and Brady is still seeking answers, saying that they could have slowed the spread of the disease had they been transparent with families about what was going on.
“They knew everybody around there had it. Why was it a secret?” she asked. “If they would have released my mom to me before any of this COVID stuff, and been honest with us, she would have been home with me and she never would have contracted the disease.”
