Coronavirus Hits Burcham Hills Senior Center
Burcham Hills has communicated to its residents and their families that two confirmed cases of COVID-19 have affected that East Lansing senior life community.
The infected individuals are an employee and a resident. The cases are not connected to each other, a fact that in a way confirms what we already know: the virus is in our community.
The news from Burcham Hills comes one month after the facility implemented a strict regime to prevent the spread of COVID-19, measures that will undoubtedly make a difference now.
The resident is in isolation while the employee is self-quarantining at home.
Out of respect for privacy, Burcham Hills did not release detailed information about the individuals.
Burcham Hills took precautions to prevent COVID-19 as early as March 10, when the facility acted as a polling site for the primaries. The administration took steps then to separate voters from the residents.
Later that night, Governor Whitmer announced Michigan’s first cases of COVID-19 and declared her State of Emergency. In the aftermath, Burcham Hills took a series of steps, such as suspending communal meals and all group events and screening employees for symptoms before allowing them to enter the building.
Burcham Hills followed guidelines established by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and was ahead of the curve on precautions compared to many nursing homes.
Today, Burcham Hills’ administration is continuing to ask residents to remain in their apartments as much as possible, to wear masks when leaving apartments, to avoid crowds and social gatherings, and of course, to wash their hands frequently for a minimum of 20 seconds.
In a letter to family members of Burcham Hills’ residents, Executive Director Kari Rennie reiterated that the facility would continue to increase its cleaning and sanitation and to restrict visitors among other protocols.
The news of the first two cases at Burcham Hills comes as the Ingham County Health Department released more detailed information about the spread of COVID-19 in the area. Read more about that in today’s special report from ELi.