Hilo Medical Center has forwarded the news that another of the residents of the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home has passed away. This brings the total count of those who have passed away from COVID-19 to 5 on the island, all of whom lived at the Veterans Home.
Public Information Officer Elena Cabatu has said that all those who passed had significant underlying health issues. The National Institutes of Health also notes that older people often have naturally-occurring changes in lung function, and that, combined with other underlying conditions such as diabetes, obesity, asthma, and other conditions make older people more susceptible to the illness, more likely to succumb to COVID-19 as they cannot fight it off.
Below is the complete update sent by Hilo Medical Center:
HILO MEDICAL CENTER UPDATE (as of 2:30 pm on Thursday, September 3, 2020)
o 9 total COVID-positive patients are hospitalized: 4 in ICU, 5 in COVID Unit
o 4 total staff from various departments have notified us of their positive COVID test results. Each case is being managed by contact tracing, appropriate testing, and monitored by Employee Health. COVID-positive employees are quarantining at home.
o Self-collection test kits are available to clinical staff involved in direct care of COVID patients.
o COVID testing is also available for all concerned staff at Employee Health.
o COVID testing for Extended Care Facility staff is scheduled for next week per new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirements to protect nursing home residents – THERE ARE NO CASES OF COVID IN EXTENDED CARE FACILITY.
· YUKIO OKUTSU STATE VETERANS HOME UPDATE (as of 2:30 pm on Thursday, September 3, 2020)
o A total of 46 residents and 15 employees have tested positive for COVID-19
§ 0 residents are currently hospitalized at Hilo Medical Center
§ 41 total residents are currently cared for at the veterans home’s COVID designated area
§ 1 death at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home occurred on Wednesday, September 2 in the early evening and was not included in yesterday’s update. 5 total deaths related to COVID-19 with significant, underlying health issues. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of these veterans who served our country.
