The four new COVID-19-related deaths the Jefferson County Health Department reported Thursday evening (April 30) were residents at the Festus Manor Care Center, according to a post of the nursing home’s Facebook page.
That means five of the eight total coronavirus-related deaths in the county have been at Festus Manor, 627 Westwood Drive S.
“We're deeply saddened by the loss of these Festus Manor residents, and our hearts go out to all of the families and their loved ones dealing with this pandemic,” the nursing home said in the Facebook post.
The Health Department said the four latest deaths included two men, one his 80s and the other in his 60s, and two women, one in her 80s and the other in her 60s.
That Health Department’s report about the latest deaths “reflects verification of official records for four previously identified cases that required additional investigation before their official announcement.”
On April 2, the Health Department announced the county’s first death related to the coronavirus – a Festus manor resident, a woman in her 80s.
On April 5, the Health Department announced a second coronavirus-related death in the county, a man in his 40s, who had been hospitalized, according to the report.
The Health Department announced the third coronavirus-related death April 10 – a woman in her 90s, who had been hospitalized, according to the report.
On Tuesday (April 26), the Health Department reported a fourth coronavirus related death, a woman in her 70’s who had been hospitalized.
As of Thursday evening, the county had a total of 274 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including at least some of the 105 cases found at long-term care facilities in the county. Most of the cases at county long-term care facilities have been at the Festus Manor Care Center, where 62 residents and 25 staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus, the nursing home previously reported.
All the residents and staff members at the nursing home were tested for the virus, and there were 170 negative tests, according to reports.
As of Thursday evening, 53 Festus Manor residents were in the COVID-19 unit and 63 were in the well unit.
Seven Festus Manor residents who tested positive have been hospitalized, and four of them have returned from the hospital, according the nursing home’s Facebook page.
“All recovered residents will transition to a ‘step-down’ unit for continued care and observation before returning to our ‘well” unit,’” the post stated.
Out of the 25 staff members who tested positive, 15 have been cleared to work, Festus Manor reported.
“We continue to go above and beyond the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines as we take aggressive and defensive measures against this pandemic,” the nursing home said on Facebook.
ServPro has been working for 13 days disinfecting the facility and helping develop a plan and protocols for continued disinfection, Festus Manor said.
“We appreciate everyone’s support and cooperation through this difficult time. Rest assured we are doing everything in our power to create a safe, healthy environment for our staff and residents, and we look forward to coming out of this pandemic as a stronger facility and community,” Festus Manor said.
Since residents are isolated at the nursing home during the pandemic, starting today families may request to have a 10-minute Skype call with their loved ones in the facility. Those calls may be made between 10 a.m. and noon Monday through Sunday.
“We encourage all families to reach out using the contact form on our website (festusmanor.com),” Festus Manor said on its Facebook page. “We will reply to all requests and will schedule Skype appointments on a first-come, first-served basis.”
