One Marlborough Nursing Home Has Half Of City's COVID-19 Deaths

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Marlborough has recorded 38 deaths due to complications of the coronavirus so far during the pandemic, and more than half of those happened at one city senior care facility, according to state figures.

So far, 22 residents at the Marlborough Hills Rehab & Healthcare Center have died. That facility is one of 84 across the state that have seen more than 20 deaths since the pandemic ramped up in March.

Marlborough has had 916 cases during the pandemic. The average age of people with coronavirus in the city is 49, but a majority of deaths — 31 — have occurred in people over the age of 60, according to the health department.

The state Department of Public Health has only given estimates of case rates in local nursing homes. Marlborough Hills had more than 30 positive cases in residents and staff as of Wednesday. The New Horizons at Marlborough facility, which previously boasted zero cases, has has had one case according to the facility. New Horizons did not record any deaths.

Marlborough Hills was also determined to be "not in adherence" with infection control guidelines created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and DPH. The facility did test enough staff and residents to qualify for state funding for infection control, however. Marlborough Hills had as of May 25 tested all residents and 91 percent of the staff, according to DPH.