Covid-19 Deaths Rise At Hillcrest Plus State & County Numbers
According to the facility owner, Berkshire Health Systems, The death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 24 at Hillcrest Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center — an increase of nine since Thursday.
Berkshire Healthcare spokeswoman Lisa Gaudet confirmed Sunday afternoon that the spike is due to residents who were already in the later stages of the coronavirus. She said the figure had been steady at 15 as of Thursday, rising to 24 over the weekend.
As of Saturday evening, she said 18 residents were hospitalized, “with a number expected to return.”
The Berkshire Eagle reports that the number of dead residents from the virus equals the outbreak at Williamstown Commons Nursing and Rehabilitation Center from the beginning of the pandemic. There were also deaths from COVID-19 at Fairview Commons in Great Barrington in the spring, and Kimball Farms Nursing Care Center is also currently dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.
As of Sunday, 28,084 cases have been confirmed among residents and staff of long-term care facilities. In all, 402 facilities have had at least one confirmed case and have seen 6,889 deaths linked to COVID-19.
In addition to the Hillcrest residents that have tested positive, 71 staff members have also tested positive, according to Farley-Bouvier, who attributed her information to the city of Pittsfield. Berkshire Healthcare numbers, however, put the number of currently infected employees at 61 as of Saturday, and 73 to date. Hillcrest, the second-largest nursing home in the state, has over 200 employees, according to BHS officials.
Here are state & county numbers as of December 6th.
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