Relatives of COVID-19 patient question Avon nursing home’s handling of possible outbreak
AVON, Ind. (WISH) — Managers at Majestic Care of Avon refused to answer questions about the source of a possible coronavirus outbreak at the 140-bed nursing home, located on South County Road 525 East.
Dozens of residents tested positive within days, according to daily updates from employees.
On Tuesday, relatives received a recorded message from the facility reporting 48 positive COVID-19 cases among Majestic residents and 13 cases among care team members.
The previous Friday, a message from the facility reported only three positive COVID-19 cases.
Families of residents said they were unable to access timely information about patient care and questioned the nursing home’s adherence to public health recommendations.
“Every time we try to call or anything, they never want to respond,” said Gerald Miller, an Ohio resident whose mother Cheryl Miller had been living at Majestic since early 2020.
Cheryl, 73, began complaining of chest pain Oct. 19 and tested positive for COVID-19 four days later.
Her family suspected she contracted the virus from her roommate, who exhibited symptoms first. Cheryl requested a room change but was not moved until she tested positive, her children said.
On Monday, her daughter called an ambulance for her after learning she was dehydrated, vomiting, disoriented and had difficulty breathing.
Majestic staffers “turned the ambulance away” and told paramedics Cheryl was “fine” and “asymptomatic,” Gerald and his sister told News 8.
Gerald’s fiancée, Rebecca Hess, called a second ambulance but it also left the facility without a patient.
“There are multitudes of workers getting sick, too. We just want to know what’s going on,” Hess said.
The state health department’s website shows 11 positive COVID-19 cases among residents at Majestic Care of Avon. The data was posted Oct. 21 and is scheduled to be updated Wednesday at 12 p.m.
Majestic Care of Avon managers did not respond to calls and emails from News 8 seeking comment.