Sick VA Hospital Staff Expose Patients To COVID, 1 Dies: Report

CHICAGO — After a sick staff member at a veterans hospital in Chicago reportedly continued to come to work for several days, at least 18 hospitalized patients tested positive for COVID-19, at least one has died.

The chief of staff of the the Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dr. Sarah Unterman, last week told employees that the hospital had "committed very real harm to a large number of patients this week," according to a memo obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, which described the situation as "horrific and disturbing."

Unterman's memo said those infected — all of whom were vaccinated — included one patient more than 90 years old, and another who was waiting for a lung transplant, according to the Sun-Times.

Hospital officials implemented new visitor restrictions last week, citing "increasing COVID-19 cases." Only patients with end-of-life hospitalizations are now permitted to have inpatient visitors at the main campus at 820 S. Damen Ave., and only two at a time.

The hospital chief of staff also reportedly said she had noticed that "literally dozens" of patients, staff and visitors at the hospital were either improperly wearing masks or not wearing them at all.

Hospital officials later confirmed the outbreak to WLS-TV and announced plans for routine walkthroughs to make sure people are properly wearing face masks.

"We take this matter extremely seriously and our hope is that this will not occur again," a spokesperson said in a statement." and that these measures will lead to the prevention of COVID-19 in the future for the health and safety of Veterans, their families, caregivers and our staff."

Formerly known as the West Side VA Medical Center, the 220-bed hospital was renamed in 2004 in honor of Chicago native Jesse Brown, a Marine veteran and secretary of veterans affairs during the Clinton administration. The federally run facility and its outpatient clinics provide care to about 62,000 veterans who live in Chicago, Cook County and Northwest Indiana.