2nd staffer at Joliet nursing home dies from COVID-19 after outbreak leaves 25 others dead

Monday, April 20, 2020

Joliet nursing home COVID-19 outbreak leaves 25 dead; mayor calls for IDPH investigation

The mayor of Joliet has called for an investigation after dozens died from COVID-19 at a local nursing home.

JOLIET, Ill. -- A northern Illinois nursing home that announced last week that 22 residents and one staffer had died of the coronavirus said Monday that the virus had claimed the life of another staffer.

Symphony of Joliet spokeswoman Lauryn Allison said that privacy laws prevented her from providing any more information about the staff member. But Lakendel Evans told The (Joliet) Herald-News that her mother, Sandra Green, a 57-year-old certified nursing assistant, died at a Joliet hospital after spending 24 days on a ventilator.

Symphony of Joliet has been a focus amid the growing number of cases at the state's long-term care facilities, and last week's announcement prompted the city's mayor to call for a state investigation of the facility.

Over the weekend, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's administration released information about individual facilities. That data showed that Symphony of Joliet and Windsor Manor of Carol Stream each had 81 COVID-19 cases, more than any such facility in Illinois. The data also showed that 286 coronavirus-related deaths - nearly a quarter of the state's total - were linked to long-term care facilities.

As the mounting death tolls from COVID-19 at nursing homes in Illinois and around the country grow, there are questions over whether case counts are much higher than what's being r

Joliet Mayor Bob O'Dekirk says he's asked the Illinois Department of Public Health to get to the bottom of it.

"We don't have the answers right now, but we're going to get the answers. Certainly, Joliet families and people who lost their loved ones have a right to get those answers," O'Dekirk said.

ABC7 Chicago contributed to this article.

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