Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

RESERVE – Approximately 30 percent of the 1,328 COVID-19 deaths reported across Louisiana on Monday were linked to nursing homes and other adult residential facilities, according to the April 20 update by the Louisiana Department of Health.

These facilities have been vulnerable to the virus due to the age and underlying health conditions of the individuals who reside there, and the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home has been no exception. According to the latest update from Brandee Patrick, spokesperson for the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs, 22 residents have died at the Reserve facility, and 47 have tested positive. Ten have tested negative.

There were 18 confirmed positive residents being cared for in the home and seven confirmed positive residents being cared for in hospitals as of press time Tuesday.

Officials are waiting to receive results for 64 individuals since testing was expanded to all 99 residents last week in a partnership with St. James Parish Hospital and the Office of Public Health. Before testing capacity increased, residents received COVID-19 testing with a physician’s recommendation.

The Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home was identified as having a cluster of COVID-19 cases in the last week of March. While the chain of events has been devastating, family member Sue Ranlett said she would never place blame on the hard-working and emotionally exhausted staff members who provide around-the-clock care to the residents.

Her father, 91-year-old Bill Rouchell, is among five Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home residents who have recovered from COVID-19.

“This is not something anybody was prepared for,” Ranlett said. “You hear on the news that there is a cluster there. This is how I feel; there was a cluster there before COVID-19. There was a cluster of old people who live there with health issues, who are very high risk for this virus. The fact that there is a cluster of positive cases over there is no surprise.”

Rouchell, who served in the Air Force during the Korean War, came to the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Home in December 2018 after he began falling at home. While his body sometimes fails him, his mind is sharp, and he enjoys the company of the other veterans who reside at the home.

Rouchell was one of the first at the facility to test positive for the virus in mid-March. He had just returned from Ochsner Hospital after having surgery for cellulitis in his hand. He was stationed in the skilled nursing area of the home for 10 days when a limited quantity of COVID-19 test kits arrived. Officials at the home were advised to test anyone showing symptoms of the virus.

That day, Rouchell happened to have a cough and a headache. He was tested on a Tuesday, and he received a positive result by the end of the week.

“They kept him quarantined in his room. He really didn’t exhibit any other symptoms, thank God,” Ranlett said. “There were many others that weren’t that lucky.”

Last week, Rouchell was declared fully recovered and moved to a wing with individuals who have recently tested negative. Ranlett is thankful her father can now interact with friends and have a little sense of normalcy.

Through the whole process, Ranlett has checked in on her father several times a day by cell phone.

“So many times when I call in, the nurse is in there checking on him,” Ranlett said. “They are calling us once a week giving updates on what’s going on, why things are happening the way they are, what they have control over, what they don’t. They have not wavered a minute in taking care of the residents there.”

Ranlett said every loss is compounded for the Veterans Home staff because the people who live there are friends, not strangers. She is thankful testing capacity has increased so officials can make informed decisions on caring for those who have tested positive and provide relief to those who test negative.