96-Year-Old Yankee Fan Strikes Out COVID-19 In NJ Nursing Home

CHATHAM, NJ - She watched the Yankees win multiple penants and lived through the years of Maris and Mantle, Jackson and Munson and Jeter and Rivera. Now, life-long Yankee fan Florence Simek, 96, can watch Judge and Cole, having beat back COVID-19 at the Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center.

According to her family, Simek was determined to beat the virus, just in time to watch her beloved New York Yankees and their upcoming season. After being confirmed positive for COVID-19, Florence was transferred to Chatham Hills’ isolated observation unit for continued monitoring and specialized care.

“When my mom came down with the COVID-19 virus, all family members just lost a little bit of hope for her,” Simk's daughter Bernadine Claufield said.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, nursing homes across the East Coast accepted and treated COVID-19 positive patients from acute care settings to allow for the influx of patients being admitted to local hospitals. Chatham Hills Subacute Care Centerhas reported 48 COVID-19 infections to the New Jersey Department of Health, alongside 16 deaths.

Unable to visit with her family, Bernadine, her brother, and other family members teamed up with Chatham Hills’ Concierge Services and Therapeutic Recreation departments to FaceTime with Simke through care and therapy sessions. Simekbegan to build on her progress and her family began to find hope in an unanticipated recovery.

“With this virus going around, seniors are having great difficulty with navigating their health and wellness. I just have to say that we are totally blessed by all the help at Chatham Hills," Claufield said. "They surrounded my mom with good health, love, and things that we couldn't provide; they really went above and beyond. They are an amazing group.”

After nine long innings of struggle, Simek was discharged from Chatham Hills’ COVID-19 isolation unit after testing negative for COVID-19, making what the staff called, “an incredible and inspiring recovery.”

“As healthcare professionals, our drive, passion, and our why is all about making a difference in the lives of others,” said Chad Kaufman, Administrator of Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center. “Words cannot describe how proud I am of our entire team from each and every department, who have worked together as a family, team, and unit, to provide the highest levels of compassionate care to those we serve, both diagnosed with and without COVID-19.”

Despite the MLB season being placed on hold, the staff at Chatham Hills wanted to bring the baseball season Simek had been longing for with a Yankees themed birthday celebration in honor of her 96th birthday. Simek donned a signature Yankees jersey and cap surrounded by a baseball park themed solarium as the staff at Chatham Hills sang her happy birthday alongside her family, who attended the celebration through a glass corridor.

“When I was growing up and lived with my mom and dad, we would always hear them cheering and screaming at the television during Yankees games. My mom and dad watched every game that they could and loved the franchise,” said Claufield.

Simek joined her Chatham Hills family in singing and humming along to baseball-themed songs of the past and loudly shouting, “Go Yankees!”

"When I think of my mother and my father, I just think of them as the survivors of the greatest generation that are still leading the way for us as they are surviving this virus,” said Rudy Simek, Florence’s son. “She has lived through wars, depressions, and a worldwide pandemic, and has survived them all. She is just absolutely amazing, and she proves to us every day that her generation is truly special.”

Simek is currently residing at Chatham Hills Subacute Care Center as a long-term and COVID-19-free resident. She visits with her family virtually as the center awaits approval from local, state, and federal regulating agencies to approve non-essential visitation.

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