The Covid-19 outbreak at Marquis Hope Village Post-Acute Rehab is more widespread than initially feared, as continued testing revealed Saturday.
The number of confirmed cases linked to the facility rose to 18, including two employees and 16 residents — nearly half of the current population of 39. Two residents tested negative, said representatives of the facility, which is independently owned by Marquis Companies and located on the campus of the Hope Village senior living community in south Canby.
“All residents that have tested positive at this time are showing mild to no symptoms,” Marquis Companies spokeswoman Heather Villanueva said Saturday evening. “Our nursing and medical provider teams are focused on assessing and intervening to support and care for any residents with symptoms or discomfort.”
Results are still pending for both residents and staff members, all of whom will be tested for the coronavirus in an effort to quickly identify any more asymptomatic carriers.
“We are preparing ourselves for possible additional positive cases and will provide an update when we know more,” Villanueva said in an earlier email Saturday. “We are doing everything we can to care for our residents and ensure we stop the spread of this within our facility.”
The facility has “aggressively” implemented isolation protocols in accordance with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and has the same staff members caring for residents with confirmed or suspected cases to help mitigate the spread.
Staff members who have tested positive have been directed to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days, as required. Staff and family members were informed of the outbreak “immediately,” according to Villanueva.
For Kathy Severson Delaplain, whose 73-year-old mother has been a resident there since March 2019, it was the news she and her sisters have been dreading since the pandemic began.
“We knew it may be inevitable for it to happen at Hope Village,” she admitted. “You just hope each day that goes by that you don’t receive the news that we have received the last 48 hours.”
Their mother is in “decent health,” she said, but has asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, both of which are increased risk factors for Covid-19.
“It’s scary, but I’m confident in the staff at Marquis Hope Village that they are working hard to face this challenge,” she said. “My heart goes out to the staff, residents and the families of both who have tested positive.”
Villanueva said the facility has adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, or PPE. All employees are wearing the recommended protective gear, including N95 masks, face shields and gowns, and have been thoroughly trained on their use.
Marquis is also conducting contact tracing for those who have tested positive. Representatives said they have not identified the source of the outbreak.
“Our entire organization is dedicated to doing everything we can to contain the virus and protect our residents, staff and community,” she said.
Marquis Hope Village Post-Acute Rehab is a 50-bed facility providing both long-term and short-term rehabilitative care for those with chronic medical conditions, including physical, occupational and speech therapy.
It is located in the same building as the Marquis assisted living facility, whose staff and residents are also being tested.
The outbreak is the second to be reported in a Canby senior care facility, and the largest to date.
Thirteen cases of the new coronavirus were reported at the Country Side Living assisted living facility in downtown Canby, including two residents who died from complications. As of this week, all other residents have recovered and the facility is no longer on admission restrictions due to the coronavirus.
Though anyone can be sickened by Covid-19, those who are older and have underlying medical conditions are at much greater risk for serious complications or death. Of the 161 deaths the state has linked to Covid-19 as of Saturday, only 11 have been younger than 60.
