MILFORD, Conn. — A COVID-19 outbreak at a Milford nursing home is now being investigated by the state. FOX61 first uncovered the COVID cluster Friday at the Golden Hill Rehab Pavilion in Milford.
“I want the state of Connecticut to investigate the nursing home. People should be held accountable,” said Louis Jackson of Milford.
“I heard that they had people there with temps going on which they weren’t telling anybody," Susan Gresko of Milford also said.
The Department of Public Health has launched an investigation into the outbreak at Golden Hill, which has sickened at least 44 residents of the 120 bed facility.
“She was scared. She had told me she thought she was going to die,” said Jackson whose wife Barbara was admitted to Golden Hill for Rehab following successful hip surgery two weeks ago. Then, days later he got a call that his wife was fighting for her life.
“It looked like she was doing okay, and then all of sudden the next thing I hear she was on a ventilator,” he said. Barbara was rushed to Bridgeport Hospital and administered hydroxychloroquine. “They’ve been giving her this malaria drug that people claim helps,” Jackson added.
FOX61’s repeated calls to Golden Hill Executive Director Andrew Wildman have been answered only by a single statement: “We have positive COVID cases and are following all CDC protocols. We were the first in the State to stop all visitors and the first to start taking daily temperatures of our staff,” said Wildman.
In response, Lou Jackson said, “He’s quoted as saying well we are the first ones to take people’s temperature. Yeah, after the guy died I’m sure you did. My take was that they were very disorganized.” Susan Gresko got the same impression. Her brother Steven Jones was a resident at Golden Hill. He’s now in the hospital on an oxygen mask. He has diabetes and several underlying health conditions. “I got a call from the nurse practitioner that my brother was on oxygen and an IV and not doing well. And they also told me that he previously had pneumonia which I was not informed about,” said Gresko.
Married to Barbara for 30 years. Both with kids. Lou shared a heartfelt message about cherishing our loved ones. “When something like this happens you really appreciate how important that person is. Until you miss them or until that person is gone and then like I said it’s like a chunk of me has been hollowed out,” he said.
57 of the states 213 nursing homes have at least one case of COVID-19. FOX61 also contacted the State Department of Public Health. We submitted questions to them requested someone be available for an interview. They did not get back to us by news time and would only say that the situation in Milford is being investigated