Coronavirus: 7 Burr Ridge Facility Residents Die

BURR RIDGE, IL — An assisted living facility in Burr Ridge that had reported no deaths from the coronavirus to families as recently as Wednesday is now counting seven virus-related deaths. With information about long-term care facilities veiled in secrecy in recent weeks, the state released facility-specific numbers Sunday.

According to the state Department of Public Health, 24 coronavirus cases and four deaths have been confirmed at Harvester Place assisted living facility in Burr Ridge. On Saturday, however, Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso's daily bulletin indicated 19 positive cases among residents and four among staff. It also said seven deaths had occurred. In an email Sunday night, the company that owns Harvester Place said the mayor's numbers were correct.

"Nine residents are sequestered at the facility currently while three are in the hospital," Grasso wrote. "It is my understanding that the remaining seven positive residents have recently passed away from COVID-19 and underlying complications."

Grasso also said the four employees are "progressing well on the road to recovery." One of the employees is Carole Considine, Harvester's executive director.

On Thursday, Harvester Place declined to release its coronavirus numbers to Burr Ridge Patch, saying it gave the information to families but not to the wider public. On Friday, a day after the first story about Harvester Place, Burr Ridge Patch obtained the facility's letters to families. Its most recent letter was on Wednesday, when Harvester said it had 10 residents and four employees, including the executive director, with the virus. The facility said nothing about deaths.

If the state's figures are correct, Harvester Place has the third highest number of deaths of any long-term care facility in DuPage County. Windsor Park Manor in Carol Stream has 11 and Chateau nursing home in Willowbrook has 10. Meanwhile, Brookdale Burr Ridge nursing home has 12 confirmed cases and two deaths, according to the state's information.

The Anthem Memory Care chain, which owns Harvester Place, said in a statement Sunday that it notified families within 12 hours of the first confirmed coronavirus case.

"Within 12 hours of Harvester Place’s first confirmed positive case, an all staff meeting took place to alert all caregiving and line staff along with the protective measures that needed to be applied per CDC and Illinois Public Health directives," spokesman Isaac Scott said in the statement. "Throughout the period, we have been truthful and transparent in disclosing case numbers, practices to protect their loved ones and any information regarding staffing when speaking or communicating to families directly. This practice will absolutely continue through the end of this pandemic."

Scott did not say whether Harvester Place had notified families of virus-related deaths.

At last Monday's Burr Ridge Village Board virtual meeting, the grandson of a Harvester Place resident suggested that the facility was not being open with the public about the extent of the virus. He said his grandmother had tested positive.

In response to the man's comments at the board meeting, Grasso said he regularly contacts the four senior living facilities in Burr Ridge. He said he was "not allowed to know" how many residents in each place were diagnosed with the coronavirus.

In a statement to Patch last week, the company said it has fully complied with reporting requirements to the county health department and the state Department of Public Health. And it said it responds to daily phone calls from family members and has appointed an employee to serve as a liaison to answer families' questions.

"We report every day there is a new development to the county and weekly to the IDPH," Laura Kislowski, vice president of sales and marketing, said in the statement. "The difference in reporting time periods may account for the person that spoke at the city council meeting misinterpreting the reporting to these agencies."

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