State Still Wrong On La Grange Park Facility

LA GRANGE PARK, IL — If you check state reports, La Grange Park's Plymouth Place nursing home and assisted living facility still does not show up as having a coronavirus outbreak. The latest report was released last Friday, and Plymouth Place shows up nowhere on the list.

This is despite the fact that Plymouth Place itself told La Grange Patch last week that it has had 17 coronavirus cases among residents and 27 among staff. And it agreed with Cook County Medical Examiner's Office's reports that show five people have died from the coronavirus at the facility.

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According to medical examiner data, the first three deaths were April 25, April 29 and April 30. The two most recent ones were May 5. Nearly a month later, though, the state Department of Public Health's reports includes no mention of the eight-story, 390-resident Plymouth Place.

Officials from Plymouth Place, though, said they have reported its coronavirus cases and deaths within a day each time.

"We're responsibly reporting our numbers. We are submitting our numbers properly," Jackie Terpstra, the facility's senior director of clinical services, told Patch last week. "(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 to Patch there can be a lag in reporting from facilities, saying the biggest priority is taking care of residents. The agency has not discussed with Patch about Plymouth Place's situation specifically.

Patch noticed the problem when it reviewed the medical examiner's information showing coronavirus deaths at Plymouth Place while state reports indicated no problem whatsoever.

The next state report is expected to be released Friday.