VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Three residents died after testing positive for coronavirus last week at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help senior care facility in Virginia Beach.
In a letter to residents and family members, administrator Terri Anderson wrote the coronavirus is "pervasive, deceptive, and unsparing in the people that it affects."
Another 26 residents have tested positive for the virus in the memory care area of the facility, per the letter, and staff members are working with the Virginia Beach Department of Public Health to control the spread of infection.
Anderson said the three residents who died also had underlying health conditions, so it's difficult to determine "if the virus was the primary factor."
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is far from the only long-term care facility dealing with an outbreak.
The Virginia Department of Health reports outbreaks in 140 facilities across the Commonwealth. However, VDH won’t release the names of the facilities, citing privacy laws. So, family members are often in the dark, waiting for transparency and details in releases like this one.
VDH currently reports a total of 382 deaths and 2,766 cases of coronavirus in long-term care facilities across the state. That would mean nursing home residents make up more than half of the state’s COVID-19 death count.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help administrators said relationships are built on trust and they chose to share information transparently to value that partnership with residents and family members.
In a statement, the facility says it’s deeply grateful to staff members who are working tirelessly to care for and protect residents.