BAKER COUNTY, Fla. – Carolyn Delp says her 78-year-old mother, Mary O’Neal, was exposed to the new coronavirus at the Macclenny Nursing and Rehab Center.
Sources tell News4Jax that at least eight other people who live at the nursing home also tested positive, and there could be more.
According to the Florida Department of Health, a total of 15 Baker County residents have tested positive for COVID-19. On Tuesday evening, the state reported the first COVID-19 death in the county, a 71-year-old woman. It’s unclear if the woman had contact with a confirmed case.
Right now, O’Neal is in the ICU at Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside Hospital.
Delp said it’s heartbreaking seeing her mother struggle with COVID-19. She said doctors are preparing her family for the worst.
The last time Delp was able to see her mother was through a glass window at the Macclenny Nursing and Rehab Center.
“When she saw all of us outside of her window, that day, before they whisked her off to the hospital, she really got upset. I said ‘At least you got to see all of us one last time,’" Delp said.
O’Neal has been in the hospital for a week after testing positive for COVID-19.
Delp says her mother contracted the deadly virus from her roommate at the nursing home.
She says the home didn’t initiate the phone call about her mother testing positive.
“This was about 6 o’clock in the evening when I called and they said earlier this morning, she started showing signs of the coronavirus and I asked them, I said, ‘Did you lose my number? At what point and time were you going to call me and tell me that she was getting sick or showing signs of being sick now?’” she said.
Since she’s been in the hospital, Delp said her mother also had a heart attack and contracted pneumonia.
“The doctor told me the other day that her chances are slim to none," Delp said.
Delp said she’s hoping for a miracle that her outgoing and loving mother will recover. Delp said at this point, she still hasn’t been able to see her mother in the hospital.
St. Vincent’s told News4Jax that family members are allowed to go in one at a time to visit a patient who is at the end of their life.
Delp said she’s hoping the nursing home will be more transparent to the resident’s family members.
News4Jax has reached out to the nursing home for comment. So far we have not heard back.