Two more residents of Grafton senior facility die of Covid-19 complications; positive test at Harbor Campus in Port confirmed

Two more residents of Village Point Commons who tested positive for Covid-19 have died, bringing the total number of deaths from the outbreak at the Grafton senior living facility to three, the Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department announced Friday.

There is also at least one confirmed case of Covid-19 at Harbor Campus in Port Washington, Washington Ozaukee Public Health Officer Kirsten Johnson said.

Both facilities are owned by Capri Communities.

The two most recent deaths at the Grafton facility are an 82-year-old woman and an 87-year-old man, both of whom had been in the memory care unit at Village Pointe Commons, Johnson said.

Robert Blackbird, 91, who was also in the memory care unit at the facility, died Thursday, March 19, and tested positive for Covid-19 post-mortem.

Johnson said there are 13 confirmed cases of coronavirus at Village Pointe Commons, including more than one caregiver.

That doesn’t mean the 29 confirmed Ozaukee County cases of coronavirus are largely limited to the senior living facilities, Johnson said. Instead, it reflects the fact that the department has been doing targeted testing, particularly at Village Pointe Commons,.

The administration there has set up an isolation unit for residents who test positive for the virus in an attempt to keep it from spreading, she said.

“We have cases confirmed in people in their 20s in Ozaukee and Washington counties,” Johnson said. “It’s widespread.”

The health department is closely monitoring the outbreak at Village Pointe Commons as well as coronavirus cases at five other long-term care facilities in Washington and Ozaukee counties, officials said. 

Two of those facilities are in Ozaukee County, Johnson said. She said officials would identify them after the residents and staff were notified.

An outbreak at a long-term care facility is defined as one resident who tests positive or two employees who test positive for the virus.

In response to the outbreak, Johnson has issued an order requiring long-term-care facility staff members to use personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks at all times and to quarantine residents in their rooms.

Noting that the spread of Covid-19 has been linked to caregiver interaction, Johnson has also ordered staffing agencies, hospice and any other organizations that provide essential services to long-term care facilities to assign staff to only one facility. 

She has also issued an order requiring EMS and first responders to wear personal protective equipment to all calls and required medical transports such as dialysis drivers to wear similar equipment and deep clean their vehicles daily.

“We continue to urge the community to please stay home. We do not want other families to lose loved ones,” Johnson said.