NEWFANE, N.Y. — Several times a day, Margaret Stark takes a drive and parks behind the Newfane Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Center. She exits her vehicle, walks between a pair of large dumpsters and makes her way to a window.
This is how she sees her husband now.
“I try to come at lunch and dinner, and if I’m out and about, I will come over and stop and look in the window,” says Stark.
John Stark is a long-time Parkinson’s patient. He also tested COVID-positive this week.
Newfane Rehab has become something of a hot spot for coronavirus cases. New York State Health Department data shows eight residents died of lab-test confirmed, virus-related illness. Another six fatalities here are listed as “COVID presumed deaths.”
Inside the facility, there are more coronavirus patients. A recorded message from the facility to family members of Newfane Rehab residents included “18 additional residents tested positive.”
Meaning, there are more than a dozen and a half COVID-cases.
What is the true picture inside Newfane Rehab?
The state health department issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying the agency has been “testing (nursing home) residents and staff to help protect this susceptible population.” It also says the department has launched multiple unannounced COVID-19 focus inspections at nursing homes throughout New York State. But there has been no disclosure of which nursing homes have been through these surprise inspections or how they are chosen.
Maximus Healthcare Group, which owns the Newfane facility, released the following statement Friday afternoon:
To our Valued Families, Staff, and Community:
All residents and staff have been tested for COVID 19. Our residents that have tested positive were immediately moved to a designated COVID unit within our facility away from the residents that are negative. The staff members that tested positive have been closely followed by the Health Department as required. We have consistent staffing assignments in place to protect the spread of the virus. All team members have been wearing appropriate CDC approved personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure the safety of our residents, and any residents who have tested positive or have symptoms have been isolated.
Our Staff have been trained in the policies of the facility regarding use of personal protective equipment and Infection control policies.
We continue to screen all staff daily and take their temperature. We are consistently communicating with our residents’ responsible party regarding their condition. We continue to honor our residents and families wishes regarding treatment in place and/or no hospitalizations.
We are working closely with our Medical Director, Nurse Practitioners, State & local Health Department while following the CDC guidelines. Many of our staff and residents are on the road to recovery.
The Buffalo News reports a state health department team is expected to visit Newfane Rehab early next week.
For Margaret Stark, she is grateful her husband is doing well, ““Praise the Lord. He’s doing well. He’s up in his chair. He’s eating. His temps have been good and his oxygen level.”
Asked how she is managing at a time when the only view of her husband is through his nursing home room window, Stark says, “Just one day at a time.”
