COVID-19 appears to be particularly dangerous for those with behavioral disabilities. | cdc.gov/
COVID-19 appears to be particularly dangerous for those with behavioral disabilities. | cdc.gov/
A May 22 report by ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune sheds light on a vulnerable population that has been severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis, and it's not the nursing homes that have been receiving so much attention.
The report focuses on state-operated centers for adults who have cognitive or behavioral disabilities The May 22 study states that as of May 21, more than one in five of the residents of these facilities has tested positive for the coronavirus, which is more than double the rates of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. Those other long-term care facilities have a confirmed case load that accounts for seven percent of residents, says the Illinois Department of Public Health.
In seven different developmental centers across the state, there are about 1,650 people. At least 355 of those residents have tested positive for COVID-19, which is 21.5 percent. Of those individuals who have tested positive, eight residents have died. Four workers have also died.
Like other facilities, there are shared living quarters and workers are needed to provide basic hygienic care for patients. But residents of developmental care facilities aren’t able to wash their hands on their own or wear masks that protect them and others from bodily fluids. That means COVID-19 can spread like wildfire when it did.
At the Park Forest center, Elizabeth Ludeman Developmental Center, more than half of the center’s 340 residents and 13 percent of the 900 workers tested positive for COVID-19. Nearly 40 percent of residents at Jack Mabley Development Center in Dixon tested positive and 13 percent of the facility’s workers tested positive.
For residents who have developmental issues, the crisis has been particularly difficult, especially since family members have not been allowed to visit since March 12.
“Much like a child not understanding fully what’s going on around them, they don’t either,” said John Haley, whose sister lives at Ludeman. “They don’t know why their family has stopped coming to visit.”
Members of the National Guard were at Ludeman and the Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee for a week in April, and other health care workers are currently in those facilities.
At smaller facilities, the state isn’t tracking COVID-19, because of privacy concerns, ProPublica Illinois reported.
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