Families concerned after Vallejo care center reports 103 COVID-19 infections, 3 deaths

VALLEJO, Calif. (KRON) — There’s been a third coronavirus death and more positive cases among residents at the Windsor Vallejo Care Center.

That means there are now 103 confirmed infected cases at that nursing home.

KRON4’s Maureen Kelly talked to the family of a patient who’s now in ICU because of the virus.

“They thought he would not make it to the through the night,” the aunt of William Bennett III said.

She said the 31-year-old COVID positive patient is now out of Windsor Vallejo Care Center and in ICU at Sutter Solano.

“He coded twice and they put the incubator in and the feeding tube,” she said. “And today they thought he was gonna be brain dead or have some brain issue, but today he recognize a doctor he opened up his eyes.”

Bennett has been living at the nursing home for over a year after suffering a series of strokes and being diagnosed with a rare blood disorder.

He is one of 80 residents who have tested positive at the facility over the last two weeks — three have died. 23 staff members have have also been infected.

His aunt had him moved to a room near a window so she and other family members could check on him. She said she was worried about him and wanted him hospitalized because he seemed lethargic.

“We knew he needed to be out of there,” she said.

He was transported by ambulance a few hours after her concerns were aired on KRON4 News.

It’s a skilled nursing home that was already having problems.

A medicare inspection report from the Department of Health and Human Services from April 12 found 23 health citations. Including one which found that the facility failed to ensure that the infection control principals were being followed. It was given a rating of much below average.

“You need to be mindful of people who cannot do for themselves,” she said. “And if you don’t have the compassion for it then you’re in the wrong business.”

A Windsor Vallejo Care Center issued a statement this week that staff are constantly getting updated training on best practices in regard to infection control and that they adhering to all federal and state recommendations to minimize the spread of this virus.

Bennet’s aunt says the doctors hope to wean him from the ventilator over the next two days. She says when her nephew is out of hospital, he will not be going back to that nursing home.

Two hospitalized in ICU, some moved to other nursing facilities, most sheltering in place

VALLEJO, Calif. (KRON) – Close to a hundred people linked to one skilled nursing facility in Vallejo have contracted coronavirus.

Two are now confirmed dead by Solano County Health Officials.

“I want him moved out of there, I want someone to come in there and shut this down,” Annette Bennett Lewis said.

Annette Bennett Lewis is talking about her 31-year-old nephew, a stroke victim who’s been living at the Windsor Vallejo Care Facility for about a year and is one of the 75 patients there that have tested positive for COVID-19.

She’s unable to visit in person but saw him through a window at the skilled nursing facility.

“He is now lethargic, he’s not eating very much, he’s not drinking very much, he says he doesn’t have a fever because there’s so many patients in there, they’re not able to come in there and give them much care. What we need is like Gavin Newsom to come up and jump up this will happen no more and take over this place put Windsor out of business or – President Trump help please,” Lewis said.

Bennett isn’t the only one concerned about a loved one there.

Danny Goza is worried about his mother Maria, an 86-year-old alzheimer’s patient.

Although she tested negative for coronavirus, 24 workers tested positive.

Goza and his niece fear that’s left the care center understaffed and the remaining workers overwhelmed.

“She was sitting in a fecal diaper, she had an accident before breakfast, they didn’t change her until her lunch tray came in and we couldn’t find her for three days,” Goza said.

In a statement, a representative from the Windsor Vallejo Care Center says their mission is to be hyper vigilant and take every recommended safety measure to try and minimize the continued spread of the virus to the residents and staff.

Windsor Vallejo Care Center (“Windsor”) has experienced an increase in the number of staff and residents suffering from COVID-19 despite the facility’s best efforts to prevent further infection.

Please be assured that the facility is adhering to all recommendations of federal and state agencies, including The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (“CMS”), and the California Department of Public Health (“CDPH”). Our mission is to be hypervigilant in taking every recommended safety measure to minimize the continued spread of the virus to our residents and staff.

For some time now we have been screening employees at the start of each shift for symptoms of COVID-19 infection, including daily temperature checks and completion of a CDC compliant screening questionnaire. Employees who show signs of illness are asked to leave immediately and isolate at home.

Furthermore, residents and staff have been tested. Visits to our facility have been restricted in compliance with state and federal guidelines. We have increased sanitation of frequently-touched surfaces. We have ample supplies of personal protective equipment. Staff are constantly being in-serviced on best practices in regard to infection control. We are proud of our staff and their dedication to the residents.

We respectfully request that all further inquiries be directed to the local Department of Public Health.

The health officer of Solano County says they have staff on the ground helping with infection control.

Two infected patients have been hospitalized and are in ICU.

They were able to move a handful of COVID positive residents to another nursing facility able to handle infected patients to ease the strain.

He says the rest need to shelter in place because the risk of moving even those who have tested negative is too great.

“They may appear to be negative today, but that won’t mean they won’t emerge disease within their incubation period. So moving them just transports the risk of COVID to other facilities as well,” Dr. Bela Matyas said.