Plymouth Place Confirms Outbreak

LA GRANGE PARK, IL — State reports indicate that Plymouth Place, a nursing home and assisted living facility in La Grange Park, has suffered no coronavirus outbreak whatsoever. No cases. No deaths.

But Plymouth Place executives say the facility has had an outbreak. They report 17 coronavirus cases among residents and 27 among staff. And they agree with the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office's reports that show five people have died from the coronavirus at the facility.

Earlier this week, La Grange Patch discovered that medical examiner's reports conflicted with the state's information on Plymouth Place. The state Department of Public Health has listed facilities with coronavirus cases, but Plymouth Place, a nonprofit church-affiliated organization, has not been included.

In an interview Tuesday, Plymouth Place's chief executive, Jay Biere, said his organization gives daily updates to the county and state health departments. When a coronavirus case occurs in the facility, county and state health authorities are notified within a day, he said.

On Monday morning, La Grange Patch published a story about the discrepancies between county and state numbers on deaths at Plymouth Place and Meadowbrook Rehabilitation in La Grange. Later that day, Jackie Terpstra, Plymouth Place's senior director of clinical services, said she called the state Department of Public Health to inquire why the agency is not reporting the coronavirus cases at the facility.

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"We're responsibly reporting our numbers. We are submitting our numbers properly," Terpstra said. "(The state employee) did not have an explanation why the numbers weren't reflected on the state website."

The state Department of Public Health has indicated there can be a lag in reporting from facilities, saying the biggest priority is taking care of residents. The agency did not discuss Plymouth Place's situation specifically.

"The data are changing hour by hour, so a facility or local health department will have the most up-to-date data," the department said in a statement to Patch on Tuesday.

According to medical examiner data, the first three deaths at Plymouth Place were on April 25, April 29 and April 30. The two most recent ones were May 5. The earliest death happened 18 days ago.

Biere said the eight-story Plymouth Place has 390 residents, about 200 of whom are in the independent living portion of the complex. No cases of the coronavirus have surfaced in that part of the facility, he said. Of the 17 residents with the virus, five have recovered, Terpstra said.

Biere said the coronavirus crisis has been difficult for everyone involved at Plymouth Place. And he said he expected the pandemic to continue for some time.

"The family members have been so gracious and given testimony on the care. This is after their loved ones have passed away," Biere said.

Biere said he applauded the role of the state Department of Public Health in providing access to testing for long-term care facilities. Of Plymouth Place's 330 employees, 250 have been tested, he said. Some of those who came back positive, he said, had no signs or symptoms of the coronavirus.

Plymouth Place is also checking on the health of employees every shift, Biere said. And everyone is required to wear face masks.

"We're sanitizing the building sometimes two or three times a day," he said.

Every employee is now getting a full bag of groceries every week, thanks to donations, Biere said.

"That's one less trip to the grocery store," he said.

Plymouth Place is a standalone facility that is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. The facility has partnered with a number of nonprofit organizations, Biere said.

Plymouth Place is rated "much above average," according to Medicare's website.