6 With Same Nursing Home Address Die Of Coronavirus

BRIDGEVIEW, IL — In late March when the coronavirus first appeared in Illinois, Tina Meskill received a phone call from the Bridgeview Health Care Center, where her 81-year-old stepfather, James Zbonski, Sr., had been a resident since November 2019. She was told that her stepfather was showing symptoms of the virus.

“They called me on March 29, saying he had severe chills and an unproductive cough,” Meskill said. “He wasn’t verbally responsive and would only respond to touch. The doctor there said he wanted my stepfather to go to [Advocate] Christ [Medical Center] for an evaluation.”

Meskill met the ambulance transporting her stepfather at the hospital. She was able to visit him in his room for a few minutes and drop off his do-not-resuscitate order with medical staff.

“We were both wearing masks,” Meskill said. “He was talking to me, so I don’t know where him not being responsive at the nursing home was coming from. He didn’t know who I was, but he was talking to me. That was the last time I physically saw him.”

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Zbonski was given a COVID-19 test at the hospital. The next day, doctors told Meskill that her stepfather tested positive for coronavirus. In keeping with his final wishes, Zbonski was not put on a ventilator. Instead, he was placed in hospice and made comfortable.

On April 6, a nurse at Advocate Christ held the phone up to her stepfather’s ear so that Meskill and her mother could say their final goodbyes. Zbonski died a few hours later.

“I told him it was okay to go,” Meskill said.

Between March 29 and April 10, six elderly people whose addresses match the nursing home’s address at 8100 S. Harlem Ave., Bridgeview succumbed to coronavirus, according to Cook County Medical Examiner reports. All six died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, which is treating a majority of the [South Side’s] most critical cases.

“The Cook County Department of Public Health is aware and in communication with the facility in Bridgeview,” spokeswoman Kimberly Conrad Junius said. “We have been working with them on an ongoing basis; checking in regularly, daily if possible, to answer questions as they arise.”

Like Zbonski, who suffered from dementia, hypertension, coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease, the other coronavirus patients had underlying health conditions that were contributing factors to their deaths.

“My stepfather was sick and had a lot of health issues, but he wouldn’t have gotten pneumonia or respiratory failure if he didn’t get coronavirus,” Meskill said. “I don’t know when he started showing symptoms because the nursing home was on lockdown.”

The coronavirus deaths originating from the nursing home’s address began on March 29, with the passing of a 74-year-old man. The same day that Zboinski died, a 92-year-old woman also oassed away on April 6. A 99-year-old woman died on April 8, followed by a 100-year-old woman on April 9. A 67-year-old man died on April 10. The cause of their deaths was attributed to COVID-19 infections complicated by other underlying conditions.

Meskill and other families with loved ones at the facility claim the only communication they received was a letter mailed to their homes. The undated later was postmarked March 28, the day before the first patient at Advocate Christ died of coronavirus.

Nursing home administrator Martha Peck confirmed in the letter to families that a resident had tested positive for COVID-19 and was in “stable condition at a hospital.” The letter explained the facility’s efforts to assess residents’ vital signs and oxygen levels every eight hours. Residents showing symptoms of coronavirus were placed in isolation and their physician notified. The letter invited families to be placed on an email list to receive “real time updates” about conditions at the nursing home.

Meskill said that by the time she received the letter her stepfather had already been admitted to the hospital. Other families who contacted Patch said they received the letter and their attempts to get recent updates about conditions at the nursing home have gone unanswered.

“At that time I didn’t think it would be necessary due to him already being admitted to the hospital,” she said. “Had I gotten the letter when the first case was reported I would have asked to be put on the list. But one day before I was kind of like, ‘too late now.’”

A similar statement posted March 26 on the facility’s website around the time Peck’s letter was sent to families, confirmed several residents testing positive for COVID-19.

“Additionally, we have had a resident who had only been in the facility ten days transfer to the hospital and test positive. In this case, that resident did pass a few days later due pneumonia associated with COVID-19, along with other complicating factors at the hospital. There have been some additional residents who were transferred to the hospital in unstable condition experiencing increased respiratory issue and high fevers. Each of them were tested and found to be positive. Currently, these residents are in the hospital and will return once stable.”

The statement went on to say that while “testing is a vital part of this process … when we inquired about testing residents and staff, the standard does not advise testing for anyone who is asymptomatic.”

Peck did not return repeated calls and emails seeking further comment.

Coming off a 14-day self-quarantine period after Meskill from being exposed to stepfather’s coronavirus, said she has yet to hear from the nursing home since his death.

“They haven’t bothered to reach out to offer their condolences,” she said. “This was one of their residents, I’m his power of attorney, and they didn’t contact me. I’ve received no information about collecting his belongings.”

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