Recent Evergreen Patient Tests Positive For Coronavirus

STAFFORD, CT — A recent patient at a Stafford assisted living center has tested positive for the coronavirus, state officials said. The positive test was announced at Gov. Ned Lamont's Wednesday afternoon news conference in Hartford.

According to the announcement, an elderly former patient at Evergreen Health Care Center was transported to neighboring Johnson Memorial Hospital after the test. A team of state experts has been deployed to both facilities to "assess" the development, according to the announcement.

Tim Brown, a spokesman for Evergreen, issued the following statement:

This morning we learned that a former patient of Evergreen Health Care Center tested positive for Covid-19. The patient was in our center up until Monday, March 16, on our short-term unit. This individual is being cared for outside of our center in a local hospital.

We have notified the Connecticut Department of Public Health and its division of Epidemiology and we are acting on all guidance they provide. We have requested testing for each of our staff members and residents, and are awaiting further guidance from the state. We have also requested additional personal protective equipment that will be needed in the weeks ahead through our trade association that is coordinating with the state.

We have taken other immediate steps to protect the health and safety of our residents and staff. We are undertaking a deep cleaning of the entire building. We also have quarantined the entire unit where the former patient resided, including limiting it to specific staff.

At the start of this pandemic, we initiated a series of protections aimed at mitigating the threat of coronavirus at our center. These include restricting visitors from Evergreen, taking the temperature of anyone who enters the facility, requiring anyone who enters the facility to complete a health questionnaire, and increasing monitoring of all residents every day.

We also have been taking the temperatures of all of our patients at every shift since this weekend. We also began taking temperatures and requiring completion of a health questionnaire for all staff at the beginning of each shift last week. We are continuing this practice.

There is no greater priority for us than the health and safety of our residents and staff. Our thoughts are with our former patient. We understand this is a difficult time for our patients and their families, and we want them to know that we are doing everything in our control to provide a safe environment. We also want to thank our many staff for their unflinching commitment to the health of all our residents.

Patch editor Chris Dehnel contributed to this story.