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COVID-19 outbreak at Lee's Summit nursing home leaves 20 residents dead

Kansas City Star - 11/17/2020

Nov. 17--Twenty residents at a Lee's Summit nursing home have died from a COVID-19 outbreak that has infected more than 100.

With 157 cases, John Knox Village Care Center has the largest outbreak in Eastern Jackson County, according to the county health department.

Seventeen of the deaths occurred in November and three were in October, said Rodney McBride, vice president of health and community services at John Knox Village.

"All these folks were somebody's loved ones, someone's parents, grandparents, and they really become part of our family as well," McBride said. "It's really been heart wrenching. You just feel like you should have been able to do more, but we've done everything and the virus still seems to win."

The facility, which has 330 licensed beds, created three isolation units in response to the pandemic. It has also acquired room sanitizing machines and UV lights, in addition to conducting screenings and rapid and lab testing.

Nationally, COVID-19 infections in nursing homes reached a record number of weekly cases this month, according to the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living. The spike in cases is attributed to continued community spread.

Health officials said last week that there is an uncontrolled spread of the virus in the Kansas City metro.

"I think we're mirroring the community," McBride said. "This disease is so difficult because of the asymptomatic nature of the disease and we have ... ran thousands of tests on our associates and our residents."

He urged the community to wear masks and socially distance.

The first death at the nursing home was reported Oct. 2, the same day the facility announced the outbreak.

Before then the nursing home had 23 residents and 41 staff who had been confirmed COVID-19 positive since March 14, according to an update on John Knox Village's website.

The virus continued spreading through the facility's care center, assisted living and independent living facilities, infecting both residents and staff.

In a Nov. 9 post, Brian Opoka, director of public safety at the facility, urged residents to resist the temptation to congregate with others to eat meals, play cards, do puzzles and spend time visiting.

"COVID-19 is here -- don't spread it around," Opoka wrote. "One small decision after another. That's how this happens. The next thing you know, the virus cascades from one person to the next."

Jackson County has reported 14,380 cases including 163 deaths, according to the state of Missouri's dashboard.

In an order issued Monday, Jackson County limited gatherings to 10 people and mandated restaurants and bars operate at 50% capacity.

The metro, including Kansas City and Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri, as well as Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, has more than 67,000 cases, according to data maintained by The Star.

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