Deadly Covid Attack at State Veterans Home Detailed

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The management of a state run nursing home for veterans placed 124 of 154 patients in immediate jeopardy when they failed to institute a proper infection control plan even as Covid-19 ravaged through the facility ultimately killing 42 residents.
The report on the Southeastern Veterans Center shows that even as state surveyors were inspecting the facility in early June, proper infection control procedures were not in place.
The report also provides a timeline of when patients began to get sick at the Chester County facility.
In fact the first sign of the impending disaster came when an employee tested positive for the coronavirus on March 31. At that point only employees were being tested
Two days later the first patient tested positive although no one on the staff was specifically trained on how to perform the test.
On April 13 and April 14 "resident deaths started occurring." On April 21 there were two more deaths, according to the report.
The commandant and the director of nursing did not effectively manage the facility the report states.
"The facility failed to consistently maintain an infection control program."
In fact the commandant, Rohan Blackwood, was replaced along with the nursing director.
Even as the inspection was underway, state surveyors observed violations including a nurse who hugged a patient without a mask.
The report also cites a nurse who worked in the regular and Covid-19 areas without a proper mask. Another employee told surveyors she removed her mask because it was hot.
Employees at the facility told the inspectors that they were not allowed to wear the proper protective equipment because management said it would scare the residents.
The employees also stated that testing was delayed because of arrogance.
"We will be fired for talking to you," one facility employee told the surveyors.
The report also faults the nursing home for placing a patient who tested negative for the highly contagious virus in a room with two patients who tested positive. In addition male and female patients were placed in the same room.
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