Carol Stream senior living community has 7 cases of COVID-19

The coronavirus crisis in nursing homes has spread to a Carol Stream senior living community grappling with seven confirmed cases of COVID-19.

All but two of the seven who tested positive at Windsor Park remained hospitalized Monday, spokesman Randy Eilts said.

The new cases have been limited to the skilled nursing section of the campus along North Avenue. Some were full-time residents living at Windsor Park, and others were direct admissions from area hospitals for rehabilitation care in the skilled nursing facility, Eilts said.

No employees have tested positive.

A Willowbrook nursing home remains the hardest-hit facility in DuPage County. The health department confirmed a total of 49 people, including 33 residents and 16 staff members, have tested positive for the virus at the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Health officials announced Monday that a woman in her 70s who was a Chateau resident has died - the fifth coronavirus death linked to the 150-bed Willowbrook facility. The woman had underlying health conditions.

Test results are pending on two other individuals at Windsor Park, a 60-acre community operated by Skokie-based Covenant Living.

While some assisted living facilities are facing dire shortages of personal protective equipment for health care workers, Covenant isn't reporting a similar need.

"Covenant Living as an organization has been diligently working on obtaining adequate supplies of PPEs from both local, national and international suppliers," Eilts said in a written response to questions. "Although we always would accept donated PPE supplies, at this time we feel that we are in a good place with PPE supplies as we await additional shipments in the near future."

A recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that inadequate supplies of personal protective equipment, staff members working with symptoms and staff members working at multiple facilities helped fuel a devastating outbreak in nine Seattle nursing homes.

Covenant Living currently has employees who work at other facilities, according to Eilts.

"No local health authority has recommended this practice stop in an effort to ensure adequate staffing," Eilts wrote. "We are following the strict protocols by CMS and CDC for infection control standards."

Covenant Living also is screening all employees reporting to work within its residential, assisted living and skilled nursing settings. Healthcare workers in skilled nursing are screened four times a day with a temperature reading and a health assessment to check for sore throats, shortness of breath or a cough.

Other precautionary measures include visitor and vendor screenings and the suspension of communal dining, with the exception of those who require assistance at mealtimes. Residents also have a limited menu to order meals delivered at no fee to their apartments or available for takeout.