‘Dedicated her life.’ Employee of Kentucky nursing home slammed by coronavirus dies.
An employee of a Kentucky nursing home dealing with a surge in COVID-19 cases has died from complications of the novel coronavirus, becoming the first known health care worker in the state to die from on-the-job exposure to the virus.
Pamela L. Hughes, who had worked as a medical technician at the Signature HealthCARE of Summit Manor nursing home in Adair County since 1988, died Monday, the company said in a news release.
“Pam dedicated her life to caring for others,” Margaret Jones, a nurse at the facility, said in the news release. “Whether it be her patients, co-workers, or family, she strived to help however she could. She faithfully worked at Summit Manor for 32 years, rarely ever calling in sick. We all will fondly remember her beautiful smile and generous nature.”
Gov. Andy Beshear said Hughes is believed to be the first health care worker in the state to die after contracting COVID-19 at work. He said her selfless service should be honored.
“We have lost her based on her service to others around her,” Beshear said.
There has been a rise in coronavirus cases recently among residents and employees of Kentucky nursing homes.
Several residents have died, including five from one Louisville nursing home, according to the state.
Signature could not confirm if Hughes was the first employee of a long-term care facility in Kentucky to die as a result of the virus.
However, a list provided Tuesday by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services did not include any other deaths among employees of long-term care facilities in the state.
Summit Manor is among a number of nursing homes in the state that have seen large spikes in cases recently. As of Monday afternoon, 182 residents and 117 staff members at 32 Kentucky nursing homes had tested positive for the virus. Thirty infected residents had died.
The most recent update from the Lake Cumberland District Health Department, which covers Adair County, said 37 residents of Summit Manor and seven employees had tested positive. That update was Sunday evening.
One resident of the nursing home, Emma Rodgers, died April 6 after contracting COVID-19. That was Adair County’s first death from the virus.
Two other rural counties, Lincoln and Jackson, have seen their first deaths in recent days as well, both of nursing-home residents.
In Jackson County, 87-year-old Helen Hisel died Sunday after testing positive for COVID-19 at Jackson Manor, also a Signature HealthCARE facility.
She is survived by two children and a grandson, according to her obituary.
Hisel had several other health conditions. People with other conditions are more susceptible to death from the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
Judge-Executive Shane Gabbard said Hisel’s was the first death in Jackson County associated with the novel coronavirus.
“I hate it what happened to her,” Gabbard said.
Gabbard said last weekend that 21 residents and 19 employees of the nursing home had tested positive for COVID-19.
In Lincoln County, a woman who had tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday died early Tuesday at a Danville hospital, said Diane Miller, director of the Lincoln County Health Department.
The woman had been a resident at Stanford Care and Rehabilitation, Miller said.
Miller did not release the woman’s name or age. The woman was the county’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 and also its first death, Miller said.
Miller said she and other health officials will take part in a conference call with the nursing home to discuss issues such as setting up a separate area to care for COVID-19 patients.
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 1:14 PM.
