-10-.
-10-. TONIGHT -- A HEARTBREAKING SNAPSHOT INSIDE AN
AUSTIN NURSING HOME WHERE AT
LEAST 15 PATIENTS HAVE
DIED IN THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK.
EMPLOYEES HAVE RACED TO ISOLATE
THE SICK FROM THE
HEALTHY AS THE DISEASE SPREADS
ROOM-TO-ROOM,
PATIENT-TO-PATIENT.
ROOM-TO-ROOM, PATIENT-TO-PATIENT.
PATIENT-TO-PATIENT. BUT FOR SOME, IT HASN'T BEEN
ENOUGH. HERE'S SENIOR REPORTER TONY
PLOHETSKI.
PLOHETSKI. OPENING WITH 911 CALLS
5:07 "THIS
5:07 "THIS IS GOING TO BE 3200 WEST
SLAUGHTER, AT WEST OAKS
REHAB, MEDIC 15'S CALL..."
5:10
5:15
5:10 5:15
5:10 5:15 "HE HAS
A 77-YEAR-OLD PATIENT WHO WAS
SWABBED THIS MORNING."
5:17
6:03
5:17 6:03
5:17 6:03 "CREWS
6:03 "CREWS SHOULD BE THERE SHORTLY, THEY
ARE
ARE GOING
ARE GOING TO BE WEARING THEIR PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT LIKE NORMAL."
6:07
NORMAL." 6:07 THIS IS
A GLIMPSE INSIDE THE WEST OAKS
NURSING AND
REHABILITATION CENTER -- A PLACE
HARD-HIT IN AUSTIN'S
CORONAVIRUS CRISIS.
THE STORY
OF ONE PATIENT WHO GETS THE
VIRUS AND SURVIVES --
-- SOT--
10:51
"SHE WASN'T
COMING OUT."
10:55
AND OF
ANOTHER WHO BECOMES PART OF THE
FACILITY'S GRIM
DEATH COUNT.
-- SOT
--
-- SOT --
-- SOT -- 18:50
-- 18:50
-- 18:50 "IT'S
18:50 "IT'S HARD. I NEVER THOUGHT I WAS
GOING TO LOSE MY MOM LIKE
THIS."
18:53
THIS." 18:53 RACHEL
18:53 RACHEL LUNA -- A MOTHER, GRANDMOTHER
AND GREAT
GRANDMOTHER -- WORKED MUCH OF
HER LIFE AS A
CUSTODIAN IN STATE BUILDINGS AND
AUSTIN
SCHOOLS.
AUSTIN SCHOOLS. IN HER
YOUNGER DAYS, SHE LOVED TO PLAY
POOL, AND DANCE THE
NIGHT AWAY.
BUT FOUR
YEARS AGO -- AS DEMENTIA TOOK
ITS TOLL -- DOCTORS TOLD
HER FAMILY SHE NEEDED
AROUND-THE-CLOCK CARE.
HER FAMILY
WAS REFERRED TO WEST OAKS, AND
RACHEL LUNA QUICKLY
FELT RIGHT AT HOME.
-- SOT
--
-- SOT --
-- SOT -- 1:41
-- 1:41
-- 1:41 "SHE WAS
LOVED BY EVERYBODY THERE.
EVERYBODY
KNEW MS. LUNA, EVERYBODY TALKED
TO MS. LUNA, MS. LUNA
WAS IN EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS. BUT
THAT WAS MY
MOM."
1:51
MOM." 1:51 IN MID-MARCH,
DAUGHTER MARIA ORTEGA GREW
CONCERNED
ABOUT A POSSIBLE OUTBREAK OF
CORONAVIRUS,
ESPECIALLY AFTER LEARNING ABOUT
WHAT WAS HAPPENING
AT NURSING HOMES ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
AFTER
COUNTRY. AFTER KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH WEST OAKS
NURSES FOR
TWO WEEKS -- BUT NOT BEING ABLE
TO VISIT -- ORTEGA GOT A
CALL THAT HER MOTHER WAS IN AN
AMBULANCE, ON THE WAY TO
THE HOSPITAL.
THE HOSPITAL.
THERE,
THERE, 74-YEAR-OLD RACHEL LUNA WAS DIAGNOSED WITH
PNEUMONIA AND COVID-19.
16:20
"I GOT
A CALL FROM HER DOCTOR, AND HE
TOLD ME THAT HER TEST
CAME BACK POSITIVE. AND HE TOLD
ME THAT IN HER
CONDITION, THAT SHE WAS PROBABLY
NOT GOING TO
SURVIVE. AND I DIDN'T WANT TO
HEAR THAT."
16:33
LESS THAN
A WEEK LATER, ON APRIL 15TH, AN
ICU NURSE CALLED AND
TOLD HER HER MOTHER PROBABLY
WOULDN'T MAKE
IT THROUGH THE NIGHT.
-- SOT
--
-- SOT --
-- SOT -- 18:23
-- 18:23
-- 18:23 "SHE PUT
US ON THE PHONE WITH HER, AND WE
SPOKE TO HER,
ME, MY DAUGHTER, MY SON. WE
SPOKE TO HER. WE
TOLD HER WE LOVED HER, AND NOT
EVEN AN HOUR LATER,
THEY CALLED US AND TOLD US SHE
HAD PASSED AWAY.
MY DAUGHTER SAID, 'THAT IS WHAT
SHE WAS WAITING ON
MOM.'"
18:37
MOM.'" 18:37 IN THE
PAST SIX WEEKS, AT LEAST A DOZEN
WEST
WEST OAKS
WEST OAKS RESIDENTS HAVE DIED OF THE VIRUS -- MORE THERE THAN ANY
OTHER AUSTIN FACILITY. AS OF
LAST WEEK, 58 RESIDENTS HAVE
TESTED POSITIVE, AS HAVE 18
STAFF.
-- SOT
--
-- SOT --
-- SOT -- "HE WAS
JUST A GREAT INDIVIDUAL, WHERE
YOU WOULD
GRAVITATE TO HIM."
AS WE
FIRST REVEALED, THE CITY'S ONLY
HEALTHCARE
WORKER TO DIE, MAURICE DOTSON,
WORKED AS A
WEST OAKS NURSING ASSISTANT.
ACCORDING
TO THE WEB SITE
MEDICARE-DOT-GOV, WEST
OAKS WAS CITED SIX TIMES IN 2019
FOR DEFICIENCIES
THAT INCLUDE NOT HAVING ENOUGH
STAFF TO MEET
PATIENT NEEDS.
REGENCY
HEALTHCARE, THE COMPANY THAT
OWNS THE FACILITY, SAID IN
THIS APRIL 28TH MEMO THAT
OFFICIALS HAVE TAKEN STEPS TO
STOP THE COVID-19 SPREAD,
INCLUDING DAILY TEMPERATURE
CHECKS FOR PATIENTS AND STAFF
AND NEW
RULES FOR HOW WORKERS SHOULD
HANDLE PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT.
COMPANY
EQUIPMENT. COMPANY CEO LARRY DEERING SAID, "WE ARE
ALSO IN CONSTANT
COMMUNICATION WITH ALL OUR
FACILITY
ADMINISTRATORS ENSURING NEW
PROTOCOLS ARE
UNDERSTOOD AND ENFORCED AND THAT
EVERY STAFF MEMBER
IS WELL EQUIPPED."
DIANA
RENEE GEORGE -- WHO SUFFERS FROM
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AND
HAS HAD BOTH LEGS AMPUTATED --
HAS LIVED IN
THE FACILITY FOR FOUR YEARS. SHE
CELEBRATED
HER 50TH BIRTHDAY AT WEST OAKS
ON FEBRUARY 22ND.
HER FATHER,
JOHN, GOT A PHONE CALL A COUPLE
OF WEEKS LATER
THAT TWO PATIENTS HAD BEEN
INFECTED WITH COVID-19,
AND THAT HIS DAUGHTER HAD TO BE
MOVED TO A SAFER ROOM
ON A DIFFERENT WING.
SEVERAL
MORE DAYS PASSED BEFORE A STAFF
MEMBER CALLED TO TELL
HIM DIANA WAS ON HER WAY TO THE
HOSPITAL, SUSPECTED OF
HAVING THE VIRUS.
A TEST
SOON CONFIRMED SHE HAD COVID-19.
10:40
"HER IMMUNE
SYSTEM IS COMPROMISED TO START
WITH. AND YOU THINK,
IT'S GOT TO BE A DEATH
SENTENCE."
10:47
SENTENCE." 10:47 BUT FOR
DIANA, IT WASN'T.
SHE HAS
SPENT THE PAST THREE WEEKS IN
THE HOSPITAL. HER FATHER
SAYS DOCTORS REPORT THAT SHE
KEEPS GETTING BETTER
EVERY DAY AND WILL SOON BE
CLEARED FOR DISCHARGE.
STILL,
HE WORRIES ABOUT A RELAPSE.
12:18
"UNTIL
12:18 "UNTIL SHE IS OUT, AND CAN BE RELEASED
FROM THE HOSPITAL,
AND WE KNOW SHE'S DOING GOOD, WE
HAVE NO IDEA."
12:26
LUNA'S
12:26 LUNA'S FAMILY IS MENDING THEIR BROKEN
HEARTS
HEARTS THREE WEEKS AFTER HER DEATH. AND ORTEGA
SAYS SHE STILL CAN'T BELIEVE
THAT A GLOBAL PANDEMIC THAT
HAS KILLED TENS OF THOUSANDS
ACROSS THE
WORLD -- HIT HOME IN SUCH A
DEVASTATING WAY.
9:08
"SOMETIMES,
9:08 "SOMETIMES, I LISTEN TO HER VOICEMAILS JUST
TO HEAR HER VOICE. I
KNOW
KNOW IT
KNOW IT IS GOING TO TAKE A WHILE BUT IT STILL HURTS." 9:18
TONY PLOHETSKI,
KVUE NEWS.
KVUE NEWS. OF THE -59- PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED
FROM COMPLICATIONS RELATED TO COVID-19- IN TRAVIS
COUNTY..
AT LEAST -30- OF THEM EITHER
LIVED OR WORKED AT
LOCAL NURSING HOMES.
THE CITY'S GOTTEN MONEY FROM THE
STATE - TO MAKE
"STRIKE TEAMS" THAT WILL RESPOND
TO OUTBREAKS IN
THOSE FACILITIES.