Coronavirus: Thirteen dead at Windsor Vallejo Care Center

More protests planned at Vallejo care center

The health emergency at Windsor Vallejo Care Center worsened Wednesday after Solano County officials confirmed two more people have died after being infected with COVID-19 at the skilled nursing facility, bringing the total number of deaths at the facility to 13.

Jayleen Richards, Solano County public health administrator, said 10 of the infected individuals were in hospice care at the time of their deaths. She said 99 residents, and 33 staff members have been infected with COVID-19 as of Wednesday.

Prior to release of the new numbers Wednesday, Maria Grimaldo led a protest of about a dozen people outside the facility, demanding it take better care of its residents.

“Light needed to be shined on Windsor’s practices pre-COVID, but now it’s more of a driving force for me,” she said.

Grimaldo’s 86-year-old grandmother, who is a resident at Windsor, has tested positive for COVID-19.

“My grandma would be left in her own feces, we would have to fight them just to give her a blanket. Sometimes she wouldn’t get dinner until 8 p.m. at night,” Grimaldo said.

She said her grandmother is receiving more attention and care after being moved to the part of the building reserved for COVID-19 positive residents.

“She shouldn’t have to get COVID-19 to receive better care,” Grimaldo added.

Grimaldo blamed the staff at Windsor for infecting her grandmother with COVID-19.

“How did she get it? She’s been in a segregated part of the building since the third week in April,” Grimaldo said.

When asked, Grimaldo believes the problems at the facility start at the management level, which then trickles down to the staff who “lack bedside manner.”

“Prison inmates get treated better,” Grimaldo said.

Grimaldo said she will continue to protest outside the facility, which is located at 2200 Tuolumne St., every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Attempts to reach Windsor staff were unsuccessful.

Reached for comment on Wednesday, Vallejo Mayor Bob Sampayan said the city has no jurisdiction over the skilled nursing facility. However, he did say the city is working with the county to monitor the situation.

Due to the loss of so many employees to COVID-19, Kaiser Permanente has begun providing care for Windsor residents, according to a joint statement from Senior Vice President/Area Manager Nor Jemjemian, and Chris Walker, physician-in-chief for Kaiser Permanente’s Napa Solano Area

“The health and safety of our patients, staff, and the community is our priority. We recognize that COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation and we are doing everything we can to keep our members, staff and communities as safe as possible,” they said. “We are deeply grateful to our medical teams, staff, and employees who are expertly and compassionately caring for and protecting our members, patients, communities, and each other.”

It wasn’t immediately known what type of staffing is assisting at Windsor.

County officials began testing residents and health care workers in late April after the facility reported nearly a dozen residents had been infected with Coronavirus. That initial number doubled ballooned to 76 residents infected in early May. At that time, there weren’t any reported deaths.