EATON, Ohio — A Centerville native says her mom died from COVID-19 in connection with an outbreak at a nursing and rehab center in Preble County.
At last check, Preble County Public Health said the outbreak at Greenbriar Nursing and Rehabilitation Center involved 56 people. Of those positive cases, 38 people are residents, the remaining 18 are staff.
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The cluster of cases is one of the reasons why Preble County is currently Level 3, red on the state’s COVID-19 public health advisory system.
Linda Wallace, of St. Simons, Ga., reached out to News Center 7 after her mom's death last week. She said she had a unique relationship with her mother. Wallace said she was given up for adoption at birth, but reconnected with her mom just a few years ago.
"I had her name on my original birth certificate," Wallace told News Center 7's John Bedell in a FaceTime interview. "And one day, I just popped her name online and found an address. And a friend of mine and I went to go visit her. When I got there she came out and she was very sweet and wanted to take a walk."
>> Coronavirus outbreak at Preble County nursing, rehab center involves 56 people
Wallace said she grew up in Centerville, graduated from Alter High School and moved away for college at The University of Cincinnati. Wallace said she raised her family in the Cincinnati-area before moving to Georgia a couple years ago.
Wallace told WHIO her mom moved into Greenbriar just a few months ago. She said the last time she saw her mom in person was in March. It was one of the last days in-person visits were allowed at nursing homes in Ohio just before Gov. Mike DeWine closed those facilities to in-person visits. Outdoor, socially-distanced visits have since re-started as those facilities here in the Buckeye State.
On July 31, Wallace said she got a call from Greenbriar saying her mother had pneumonia. "And I asked if they had tested her for COVID and they said they didn't think they needed to," Wallace said.
Then, a week later, on August 7, Wallace said she got another phone call from Greenbriar. They said her mom was one of the first 15 people there to test positive for COVID-19. Wallace's mother died last Tuesday, August 18. She was 95. "It was hard because she was so sweet and I didn't have much time with her," Wallace said. "Not enough (time). She was elderly. As soon as I heard she had COVID, my heart told me she might not make it. She was really sick."
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Wallace told WHIO she believes the staff at Greenbriar are doing the best they can in a tough situation, but says she still worries. “My biggest concern is that they have enough help,” Wallace said. “It just sounds like they’re just so overwhelmed I mean to have 20 staff members out and you know I just want to make sure that the residents have enough care and enough nurses there to look after them properly and that’s kind of why I contacted you.”
Wallace said she reached out to the Ohio Department of Health with her concerns.
Tuesday, News Center 7 e-mailed an ODH spokesperson and called Greenbriar Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for comment, but had not heard back as of late afternoon.
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