SPRINGFIELD — A resident at the Southbrook Care Center in Springfield died after testing positive for the coronavirus last week.
News Center 7′s Jenna Lawson looks into the race to contain the virus spread before the facility becomes a hot spot for COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, there have only been two confirmed cases at Southbrook, and they are the only long term care facility in Clark County with confirmed cases.
“They treat everyone like their family,” said Carolyn Schumacher the daughter of Southbrook resident. “So I know if their mom was in there, they’re treating her like it was their mother."
Schumacher is trying to stay positive for her mother, and has not been able to see her face-to-face since the end of February.
Southbrook released a statement after a resident was sent to the hospital, tested positive for the virus, and then died last week.
The statement said the care facility has spared no expense in getting PPE, had began screening before being required to by the state, and adopted total transparency with staff residents and all health officials.
“Long term cares are a very high risk population and we’re very concerned," said Clark County health Commissioner Charles Patterson.
In neighboring Miami County, 52 cases of COVID-19 were associated with outbreaks between the Koester Pavilion and Springmeade Health Center.
To contain the spread at Southbrook, the health department has done 2 rounds of testing. The first round came back with a positive result for an asymptomatic contract employee, and the second batch is still pending.
“We didn’t leave any stones unturned in that, and I think we did an appropriate amount of testing to make sure if there is additional COVID-19 in that facility," said Patterson. “We’re gonna find it and be able to stomp it out as quickly as possible.”
Those results from the second round of testing done here at Southbrook are due back in the coming days.
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