25 Investigates: Chelmsford nursing home facing COVID-19 cluster, five residents have died

CHELMSFORD, Mass. — On the outside of the Sunny Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation Center peace and tranquility. However on the inside, rising concern over a recent cluster of cases.

The Chelmsford Board of Health confirmed that five residents have died and 47 residents have recently tested positive for COVID-19. Seventeen staff members also tested positive.

“It’s unfortunate from day one when we are all glued to our TV’s it seems like all of those places, I don’t know if it’s lack of care or employees, I don’t know, but it seems like it’s run rampant through those places so I would be concerned if I had a parent in one of those places,” said Billerica resident Stephen Hamblett.

A spokesperson for Sunny Acres sent the following statement:

"Sunny Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has been fortunate over the past 15 weeks to not have a single resident or staff Covid-19 positive case. This center has conducted approximately 1600- PCR surveillance testing on staff and residents during this period, through October 2020. The center has provided numerous education and in-service programs with all staff members on current infection control practices, proper use of PPE supplies and Covid-19 prevention. Our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of our residents and the dedicated staff who are making enormous personal sacrifices to provide compassionate care during this public health crisis. Unfortunately, it has proved impossible to keep this rapidly spreading and highly contagious virus out of this center.

During recent routine Covid-19 surveillance testing conducted in late September - it was indicated that several residents had tested positive for Covid-19. This center has been working closely with the State Department of Public Heath, The Chelmsford Board of Health and has been receiving support from infection control specialists to bring this current virus cluster under control in the center. We are following all State and CDC guidelines to try to protect our residents and staff. Administration staff have reported daily all cases for residents and staff though the proper state and federal communication channels per guidelines. All family members receive routine updates on their family member situation, and Administration staff have provided operational communication to families and staff as the situation unfolds. The good news is that many of our residents have moved past their 14 day isolation period, and on the road to recovery. We are monitoring their progress very closely.

The Sunny Acres Management team wants to thank our courageous staff for their commitment and dedication in providing the highest quality of care to all our residents during a very challenging and difficult period. They are true HEROS. We also want to thank our families for their support."

—  -Sunny Acres

They wouldn’t elaborate on how such a large cluster of cases happened, but that’s a question many Chelmsford residents have especially after the deadly outbreak we saw at Holyoke Soldiers' home.“It’s concerning definitely,” said Danielle, a Chelmsford resident. “You have to wonder what’s causing this.”

Sunny Acres is partly to blame for why Chelmsford is one of the 77 communities now labeled as being in the “red zone.” The map growing redder and redder by the week shows 14 more towns and cities upgraded to high risk for coronavirus since last week.

The new COVID-19 health data issued by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Thursday, Oct. 22 showed a spike in the number of communities in the state that are now considered at high risk for COVID-19.

Since last week, 14 more towns have been marked as “red zones,” meaning those communities are now at increased risk for COVID-19 transmission. The criteria for labeling towns as low, moderate and high risk for the virus is dependent upon how many people within a city or town test positive for the virus and how prevalent it is.

As a state, Massachusetts continues to be considered high-risk, a designation given last week, with an average daily case rate of 9.2 per 100,000 population over the last 14 days. Last week, the state had averaged a daily case rate of 8.7 per 100,000 population over the last 14 days.

Currently, the following towns are considered high-risk for coronavirus: Abington, Acushnet, Ashland, Attleboro, Avon, Berkley, Boston, Boxford, Brockton, Buckland, Canton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, East Longmeadow, Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Framingham, Gloucester, Hanover, Hanson, Haverhill, Hingham, Holliston, Holyoke, Hudson, Kingston, Lawrence, Leicester, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Marlborough Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Methuen, Middleborough, Middleton, Milford, Millville, Milton, Monson, New Bedford, North Andover, Norwood, Oxford, Pembroke, Plymouth, Randolph, Raynham, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Saugus, Scituate, Seekonk, Shrewsbury, Somerset, Somerville, Springfield, Swampscott, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Waltham, Webster, W. Bridgewater, W. Newbury, Westfield, Westport, Weymouth, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester and Wrentham.

Starting Monday, the following towns must revert back to Step I, Phase III of the reopening plan since they have been in the red zone for three consecutive weeks: Acushnet, Brockton, Chelmsford, Holyoke, Hudson, Kingston, Leicester, Malden, Plymouth, Randolph, Waltham, Webster and Woburn.

“You still have to go live your life. Be as safe as possible is the way we look at it, but it’s concerning,” said Hamblett. “I have a 78-year-old mother so I’m concerned about her. I don’t spend any time with her, unfortunately.”

25 Investigates has reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and asked how they are helping the home get this outbreak under control.

DPH told 25 Investigates they deployed a rapid response team on Oct. 9 where they sent two shipments of PPE from the state stockpile and that they performed two infection surveys that are currently under review.

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