WMG Volume 7 • Issue 11 May 14, 2020
Wilton Manors Gazette FACEBOOK.COM/GROUPS/WMGAZETTE
COMMUNITY
16 Dead at Manor Pines; Residents Transferred Out By Jason Parsley Days after the state reported 16 closely monitoring the situation at Manor residents of a local nursing home had died Pines. He said the Florida Department of of COVID-19, all of the remaining residents Health, and the State’s Agency for Health who tested positive were transferred out Care Administration, which regulates and licenses Assisted Living Facilities, of the facility Sunday. “Nursing homes were simply not has been working closely with Manor prepared for this virus,” said Wilton Pines and both agencies have conducted Manors City Commissioner Gary Resnick. multiple site visits. “Additionally, Fort Lauderdale Fire According to WSVN 55 residents of Department, our contractual Manor Pines Convalescent agency, has been visiting Center in Wilton Manors “IT WAS and communicating with were transferred to local area Manor Pines staff to hospitals. FRIGHTENING TO review operating plans and “Manor Pines nursing GET A TELEPHONE home in Wilton Manors has CALL ADVISING ME concerns,” Rolli said. “That team has been providing been extremely hard hit,” THAT AMBULANCE updates regularly to city Resnick said. AFTER AMBULANCE staff.” Those relocated residents WAS ARRIVING AT Two weeks ago when the include all 48 who have MANOR PINES AND state released the number tested positive for COVID-19 of COVID-19 infections at as well as seven others who TRANSPORTING the facility, at the time 65, previously tested positive, PATIENTS AWAY.” SFGN interviewed Ralph but have since tested - Julie Carson Marrinson, president of the negative. WILTON MANORS CITY Marrinson Group, which “It was frightening to get COMMISSIONER operates Manor Pines and a telephone call advising seven other senior care me that ambulance after ambulance was arriving at Manor Pines facilities in Florida and South Carolina. Marrinson told SFGN at the time he and transporting patients away,” said Wilton Manors City Commissioner Julie was “absolutely” proud of how his facility Carson. “I was relieved to know that had handled the coronavirus crisis up to in an effort to reduce occupancy at the that point. “The Health Department and other Facility, the Health Department decided agencies have been here. They said to relocate patients.” According to Wilton Manors City everything is perfect. They have full Commissioner Paul Rolli, the city has been confidence that we are doing everything
correctly,” he said. “When you try to do the right things, for the right reasons, things work out. We are all tired. It’s been a long 4 to 6 weeks.” As for the high infection rate he attributed it to his facility’s high testing rate. “It is not a high infection rate,” Marrinson said. “It’s an accurate infection rate, because we tested everybody.” He added, “Ninety percent have no symptoms.” At that time only three residents had died, all of them after being taken to a hospital. Marrinson added that he decided to make sure everyone at the home got tested “because I have to take care of people. How am I going to find out if we don’t test? Isn’t that common sense?” More recently, but before the transfers took place Sunday, Marrison stressed to the Sun Sentinel his facility was on top of the crisis. “We’re doing everything we’re supposed to be doing. We’ve tested everybody. I just don’t know what more to say. It’s a worldwide situation. I just can’t wait till it’s over,” he told the Sentinel. “We have two units that are completely isolated, and we have specific staff in each unit to make sure we don’t have any cross-contamination. Like the nurses in the hospitals, all of our nurses and aides and everyone else are heroes.” As for the seemingly high death rate, in a statement to NBC6, the facility appeared to attribute the deaths to the underlying conditions each of the victims were suffering from. “Manor Pines began testing all residents
Manor Pines Convalescent Center. Photo via Manor Pines Convalescent Center.
and staff in early April, whether they had symptoms or not. We’ve conducted over 900 tests, which is the reason our facility has been reporting a high-number of residents testing positive for COVID-19 … We’re saddened to confirm that 13 residents passed away at the hospital and three residents passed here at our care center, all due to chronic health issues contributing to their COVID-19 symptoms. Our dedicated caregivers at Manor Pines mourn for the loss of those residents, because every one of them is part of our family.” WMG Visit Facebook.com/groups/ WMGazette to join the Gazette’s community Facebook page.
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