COVID-19 Deaths at Mary Ann Morse Increase to 20

NATICK – Mary Ann Morse healthcare CEO Lisa Kubiak reported three additional deaths due to COVID-19 on Friday, April 24 to families.

This bring the total number of deaths due to the virus at 20.

Kubiak reported on April 21, that 17 residents had died from the coronavirus.

“Although we are far from being out of the woods, we are seeing small glimpses of recovery among residents, and improvement within our communities. Although we are grateful for this modest bit of positive news, we cannot help but grieve for the 3 additional lives lost to this pernicious disease this week. Our hearts are with their families – and all of the families who have been so deeply impacted at nursing facilities across the state, the USA, and the globe. We pray for them all, as well as our residents and staff still battling the virus,” wrote Kubiak to families yesterday, April 24.

As April 17, 75 residents and 36 staff had tested positive for COVID-19.

Kubiak told families there have been no new cases of the virus in residents.

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On April 8, SOURCE first reported that the National Guard was on site testing at the Natick facility and that 4 residents and 4 staff had tested positive.

“We continue to thank our devoted and tireless staff for their efforts. Their compassionate caregiving on the frontlines has been an inspiration to us every day, as we travel this long and difficult road together,” Kubiak wrote to families.

“When we learned of our first positive case of COVID-19 among our residents, we worked under the guidance of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and other local health authorities to take aggressive steps to prevent the spread of the virus,” said Kubiak earlier this month.

Mary Ann Morse healthcare in Natick is not the only senior, long-term or assisted facility with positive cases of COVID-19.

AARP Massachusetts sent a letter to the Massachusetts Governor this month seeking the names of senior facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases made public.

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“We urge Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health to release publicly the names of nursing facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases,” wrote AARP Massachusetts on behalf of its 775,000 AARP members in Massachusetts.

“Contrary to concerns that such disclosures would violate a patient’s health privacy, we do not believe HIPAA precludes a state health agency from releasing the names of facilities because a facility is not a covered entity as defined by federal law. We believe transparency and notice to the public is critical for public health,” wrote AARP Massachusetts.

Earlier this week, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill that would requires that senior, rehab, and long-term facilities send data on COVID-19 positive cases and on mortalities to public health officials during this public health emergency.

The bill now goes to the Massachusetts Senate.

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