MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Sixteen residents and one staff member of a Morristown nursing home have died after an outbreak of COVID-19.
According to a statement from Scott Hunt, Executive Director at the Heritage Center, 46 residents have recovered from the coronavirus. One resident is still COVID-19 positive and another is in the hospital.
Seven employees who have tested positive are still not at work, but 43 others have recovered.
"We are on track for the remainder of our active resident cases to be officially recovered next week, and we are continuing to communicate updates regularly with our residents, their family members and our staff," according to the statement.
The statement said that residents and staff members are tested weekly and they are following all safety guidelines.
"We mourn the loss of these residents and associates. They were part of our family, and their passing has left a hole in our hearts," according to the statement.
Original story Oct. 13, 2020
Outside the Heritage Center of Morristown, signs read "we are all heroes." Paper flowers plaster the windows and Halloween decorations line the driveway.
But inside the nursing home, the battle against the coronavirus rages on.
Even though the Tennessee Department of Health reports it's been two weeks since a new positive case, the sick get sicker.
An ambulance brought a 96-year-old woman to the hospital Sunday night, 911 call records show.
"She's COVID positive," a nursing home worker said on the evening 911 call. "Respiratory failure, she's got a low O2 [oxygen]."
Two of every five people who live at the nursing home have tested positive. So far, 14 have died. Six in just the past week, the state said.
Life Care Centers of America owns this nursing home and the one in Athens, Tenn. where 14 people died of COVID-19 complications earlier this year.
In a statement, the company says, in part "We continue to battle COVID-19 every day as we mourn the loss of some of our dear residents. We extend our deepest sympathies to their families and friends."