Twinbrook Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center has seen an increase in Coronavirus cases in the past weeks. According to their website Friday, the weekly cumulative case count at Twinbrook is 60 cases.
One former employee says that might be because the home didn't follow proper safety precautions. This employee wishes to remain anonymous, but she quit her job about a month ago, after working in a facility that she called outdated with old beds, torn wallpaper, dirty railings, shared bedrooms, shared showers, and an outbreak of COVID-19.
"It is really hard when you start to know somebody's name and what they like and you get told they died last night," she says.
One moment that stands out to this employee is when nine Alzheimer patients passed away.
"There were nine people who had passed and I felt bad for them and they (staff) said why do you feel bad for them, they don't know who they are," she says.
That moment was emotional for her.
This former employee says all of the rooms at Twinbrook were shared with only a curtain in between. She also says the staff did not have adequate PPE equipment and had to rely on homemade masks.
"We were told we had to wear PPE all day and not to change it because they didn't have enough," she says.
She also says that Twinbrook's owner, Guardian Elder Care, also owns another nursing home, where COVID-19 cases were reported before any were reported at Twinbrook.
"They were offering bonuses if we would go to work at the other location and at Twinbrook," she says. "I know that's where it came from."
She says Twinbrook didn't have any COVID-19 cases until after employees started working at both locations. She says COVID-19 patients and healthy patients were quarantined together.
"I know for a fact that one of the patients who had COVID refused to move and they didn't move him," she says. "He stayed in a room with a person who didn't have it."
She says the patients were quarantined and were not allowed in the common areas. She mentions they also were not able to go into the outdoor areas because the grass and weeds were not taken care of. She also says the patients sometimes seemed scared.
"I wouldn't wish anybody to be there and I don't think that place should be open," she says.
Guardian Healthcare says the caregivers continue to be supplied with proper PPE equipment and state: "The safety of our patients and our employees remains our top priority. We are following all CDC, CMS, and DOH guidance for health care facilities. We can confirm 49 positive patient cases at Twinbrook Healthcare & Rehabilitation. Twinbrook caregivers continue to be supplied with proper amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) and staff have been properly trained to use this equipment. We thank our caregivers for their hard work during this unprecedented public health crisis."
