INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – A long-term care residential facility located in Independence is reporting 34 positive cases of COVID-19.
The Groves, located at 1415 West White Oak says their facility has 400 staff members and around 300 residents.
In a news release Thursday, the facility said they are working with the City of Independence to further support their safety measures by providing additional personal protective equipment and is helping and is helping facilitate communications with the Jackson County Health Department and Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for additional testing needs.
“Early this week, we discovered a positive case of COVID-19 had been connected to our facility,” The Groves CEO Dee Shaffer said. “This individual was sent home after a routine health screening and those they had come in contact with were also sent home following the report of symptoms. After investigation, we were able to determine that the likely source of the outbreak could be traced to one asymptomatic staff member, and our safeguards did not appear to fail. No symptoms had been reported for the previous two weeks or more leading up to the day the individual reported symptoms.”
The facility said that following the March 12 State of Emergency declared by Independence Mayor Eileen Weir, they immediately implemented strict safeguards to protect their residents and staff.
“For four months these protocols successfully maintained zero cases at the facility, however, as is being seen across the country, COVID-19 has made its way to the facility through an asymptomatic individual,” the company said.
At this time, the cases have been contained within one area of the facility. The Groves said they have notified all staff, residents and family of the situation.
“While we all want to return to our normal lives it is more important than ever that we practice social distancing, regularly wash our hands for 20 seconds and wear a cloth face covering while also limiting our travel,” Independence Mayor Eileen Weir said. “We are seeing an increase in cases across the country as restrictions lift and must remain diligent to ensure our healthcare workers, first responders and vulnerable friends, family members and neighbors have the chance they need to successfully navigate through this challenging time. Facilities like The Groves have gone above and beyond in taking all necessary precautions to protect their staff and those they serve. This is a sobering reminder why diligence is so important as we continue to combat COVID-19.”
Since the middle of March, eastern Jackson County has reported 736 cases of COVID-19 with 21 deaths and 335 presumed recoveries.
Missouri has reported 15,390 cases with 860 deaths.
For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as a fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The majority of people recover.