The number of residents testing positive for COVID-19 at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans has nearly tripled in the last four weeks, with 66 positive tests reported as of Wednesday, Dec. 9.
On Nov. 9, the cumulative total of residents testing positive for COVID-19 was 24. The jump to 66 cumulative cases in four weeks is a disturbing trend, state officials say.
"This virus is challenging both our resident members and staff in so many ways,'' Michigan Veteran Homes Executive Director Anne Zerba said in a statement on Thursday.
The increase has been particularly acute over the last two weeks, with additional positive cases reported on Thursday for residents and staff.
The state also reports a total of six resident deaths at the Grand Rapids facility, located at 3000 Monroe Avenue NE. The first resident death was reported in May.
Staff members testing positive for COVID-19 has also spiked.
On Nov. 9, a cumulative total of 44 staff tested positive for COVID-19. As of Wednesday, Dec. 9, the number was 78; an increase of 77 percent.
“Yes, unfortunately, there has been an uptick in COVID cases at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans,’’ Penny Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said in an email.
The increase, she wrote, “correlates to an increased prevalence in the local community.’’
“Our staff remain dedicated and able to meet the care needs of our members and we are deeply committed to taking every measure possible to identify the possible source of this outbreak and eliminate it,’’ the email states.
The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans currently houses about 160 residents and a staff of 450, both full-time and part-time.
It is closed to all in-person visits, including volunteers. A sign on the driveway leading to the veterans home says: “Stop. No visitors beyond this point unless medically necessary.’’
The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans is a long-term care facility for state veterans. Construction of a new facility on the 90-acre site is expected to be completed in 2021. The $60 million upgrade got underway in May of 2019.
Zerbe said a vaccine is on its way and the veterans home has been prioritized to be one of the first to receive it.
"We are working with our partners in the National Guard on the logistics of how we will administer it once it arrives,'' she said in a statement. "In the meantime, we will remain vigilant in our fight against this virus.''
In an email sent to veterans home employees this week, Zerbe said the COVID positive cases were detected through nasal swab testing and rapid Point of Care testing of members who presented with symptoms.
“Sadly, although most of our members are stable at the present time, we have had one member pass away during the most recent outbreak at the facility,’’ Zerbe wrote in the Dec. 7 email, obtained by 13 ON YOUR SIDE.
COVID-19 data for the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans is provided by the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs and includes information on cumulative to date cases and cases new in the last 24 hours.
Categories include residents and staff testing positive for COVID-19 and those who have recovered.
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