12 Dead in COVID-19 Outbreak at St. Therese of New Hope Senior Campus

COVID-19 Outbreak in New Hope senior living campus.

One of the state’s deadliest outbreaks of the novel coronavirus has impacted the St. Therese of New Hope senior living campus. CCX News has learned at least 12 residents have died at the large senior care complex due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

St. Therese, located at 8000 Bass Lake Road, offers a 258-bed nursing home as well as independent and assisted living. The deaths come on a day in which the Minnesota Department of Health reported 19 new deaths Wednesday, the most so far in a single day in Minnesota.

St. Therese of New Hope celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018

According to a statement provided by Saint Therese, the senior facility has begun to quarantine all infected residents, each confined to a single unit. It also has instructed staff to treat all residents known to be exposed to the virus as if they could be infected. St. Therese employees will be screened for signs of the illness before each shift, the statement said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted residents of congregate care senior settings. Of the 179 people who have died in Minnesota of the respiratory illness, nearly two-thirds are linked to long-term care facilities, such as St. Therese.

The statement from St. Therese also said the facility initiated “aggressive infection control measures and proactive screening” March 13 to limit the spread of COVID-19. Those steps included closing its building to all visitors, restricting congregate gatherings and increasing sanitation of common areas. The nonprofit that oversees St. Therese also instructed staff to wear masks and personal protective equipment “during close interaction,” the statement said.

The Star Tribune reports that in a review of death records, the residents of St. Therese of New Hope who passed away were between 82 and 96 years old.

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