Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center reported Thursday afternoon that the number of in-house residents who have tested positive for coronavirus has increased to 38.
Two residents have died of COVID-19, the facility's medical director confirmed Monday.
A statement released Thursday said another resident who had tested positive died overnight, but it is not clear that COVID-19 directly contributed to their death.
The names of the residents who died have not been released.
A statement was released by the facility Tuesday, saying N95 masks and surgical masks were acquired and 14 of the residents who tested positive have improved.
Meanwhile, a nurse who works at the nursing home told Action News Investigates she was denied access to an N95 respirator mask, even though she was caring for patients with COVID-19 symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control has said clinicians caring for coronavirus patients should use those masks.
"I can't believe I was denied as a health care worker, from another health care worker, to work in unsafe conditions," said nurse Tamera Witherspoon.
On Saturday, Witherspoon said she was assigned to care for 20 patients who had been in the same unit as the patients diagnosed with COVID-19. When four of her patients showed symptoms including a high temperature, she asked for an N95 mask. But she could not get one.
"I was livid but I was also on duty. There are patients that need to be cared for so I'm in a predicament," she said.
