Coronavirus: 3 Deaths At Elmhurst Facility

ELMHURST, IL — The Lexington of Elmhurst long-term care facility has 33 coronavirus cases and three related deaths, the state reported Sunday. If these numbers are correct, the facility has the fourth highest number of cases and deaths in DuPage County.

But a representative of Lexington said Monday the state's number of cases is inaccurate. He said the nursing home counts only six cases, but agrees the number of deaths is three.

"If a person has a cough, we have to turn that in. They have taken those numbers with the confirmed cases," said Jonathon Earlywine, the home's service excellence manager.

Don't miss updates in Elmhurst as they are announced — Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

On Sunday, the state released facility-specific coronavirus numbers, after weeks of some private facilities apparently preferring to keep that information from the public. Lexington of Elmhurst is owned by the Lombard-based Lexington Health Network, which owns 14 facilities in the Chicago area. The Elmhurst site includes separate buildings for a nursing home and an assisted living facility. The state numbers refer to the nursing home.

The Lexington of Elmhurst nursing home has 142 certified beds, according to Medicare's website. Medicare rates Lexington of Elmhurst as "above average" overall. More specifically, it is rated as "below average" for health inspections, "above average" for staffing and "much above average" for quality measures.

The nursing home's phone message Monday said it was taking additional precautions in dealing with the coronavirus and limiting visitation to essential medical providers. Its Facebook pages shows photos of employees wearing face masks.

According to Medicare's ownership information about Lexington of Elmhurst, Lombard-based Royal Management Corp. has held managerial control of the nursing home chain since 1989. The three owners are the discretionary trusts of Cynthia Thiem, James Samatas and John Samatas.

In an interview, Earlywine of Lexington said his company is speaking with the state Department of Public Health about the number for the Elmhurst facility. He said the home has been keeping families of residents updated about the coronavirus situation.

"We want to be as transparent as possible," Earlywine said. "When we get a new confirmed case, we send a letter to all family members."

The facilities in DuPage County with the most deaths are Windsor Park Manor in Carol Stream, Chateau in Willowbrook and Harvester Place in Burr Ridge, with 11, 10 and 4 deaths, respectively.

Harvester Place, which had been keeping its number of deaths under wraps, revealed over the weekend that the number was seven in connection with the virus, an even higher number than the state had reported.

If you are a family member who has received a Lexington of Elmhurst letter on the coronavirus situation, you can send it to david.giuliani@patch.com. Patch will not release residents' names. Such letters will help determine the nursing home's transparency with families.

Read more:

• Pritzker Gathering Data Before Extending Stay-At-Home Order