5 Deaths, 9 Cases Of Coronavirus At Lemont Center: IDPH

LEMONT, IL — Lemont Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, otherwise known as Lemont Center, has nine reported cases of coronavirus and five related deaths, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported May 8.

IDPH is now sharing the case numbers of residents and staff of long-term care facilities. The data is reported starting from the beginning of the coronavirus response on Jan. 24. Numbers are current as of May 8. Lemont Center has not given information on how many cases are residents or staff members.

The cases included in the data include lab confirmed cases and cases meeting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outbreak case definition. Facilities report the data to local health departments, who then report to the Illinois Department of Public Health.

The table below shows the date data was reported, and then the amount of cases and deaths reported on that date.

CEO of Extended Care Consulting, Ron Nunziato, which provides consulting for Lemont Center told Patch the facility's "first priority has and will always be our residents’ health, safety and wellbeing."

"As we all know, the elderly and those individuals with co-morbidities are at an increased risk of contracting this virus," Nunziato said. "Nursing home residents are front and center of the high risk population not only because these illness but also because of the way nursing home residents live/lived: congregate dining, social activities, sometimes sharing restrooms, and open policies for visitors. As more individuals are tested (community and nursing homes alike) the number of COVID positive people will clearly increase."

Nunziato said the facility has infection control practices in place for several weeks, including symptom screening of staff and residents, increased cleaning and disinfection and visitor restrictions.

"Although we are saddened by any amount of deaths of our friends here at our home, whether COVID related or not, we are also optimistic that a number of our residents who had tested positive for COVID-19 or were persons under investigation have moved through their isolation/ quarantine period known as the incubation or infectious period and are doing well," Nunziato said.

Nunziato said the facility is appreciative of its staff who "continues to work hard and tirelessly through this period in ensuring the needs of our residents are met."

"Much like we wouldn’t blame victims of hurricanes and tornadoes, we shouldn’t blame nursing homes either – this too is the perfect storm," Nunziato said.

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Lemont Center, 12450 Walker Road, has 143 certified beds, according to Medicare's website. Medicare rates the facility "much above average" overall. More specifically, it is rated as "above average" for health inspections, "below average" for staffing and "much above average" for quality measures.

In Cook County, IDPH is reporting there are 6,369 cases of coronavirus in long-term care facilities and 863 related deaths. As of May 8, the Cook County Department of Public Health is reporting 138 congregate settings, like long-term care facilities or nursing homes, are reporting one or more cases in Cook County (excluding Chicago, Evanston, Oak Park, Skokie and Stickney Township which have their own health departments).

Read more:

• Illinois Coronavirus Update May 11: 77,741 Cases, 3,406 Deaths
• Lemont Mayor To Attend Discussion On Restore Illinois Plan