Two more Pine Acres residents die from COVID-19 complications, death toll climbs to 10 inside facility

DeKALB - Two more residents of Pine Acres Rehab and Living Center, a longterm care facility plagued since late May, have died from complications due to the novel coronavirus Friday.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the residents were a man in his 80s and a man in his 90s. Up until Friday, all deaths at Pine Acres had been women.

The death toll at the 119-bed longterm care facility now climbs to 10, which marks the majority of the 15 deaths countywide.

The first death,a woman in her 70s, was reported May 28. That was soon followed by a second death, Virginia Hennecke, 96, May 31. The third death, also a woman in her 90s, was reported June 3, and two days later on June 5, a woman in her 60s and a woman in her 90s also died. The latest reported Tuesday, June 9, included three more deaths: a woman in her 90s, a woman over 100, and another Pine Acres resident who’s address isn’t in DeKalb County.

No new cases were announced linked to Pine Acres, however, and there remain 74 cases at the facility, including in 52 residents and 22 employees.

A Daily Chronicle investigation into the COVID-19 fight inside Pine Acres this week revealed ways staff from the Dekalb County Health Department are coordinating with Pine Acres to ensure adequate supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and training Pine Acres staff to administer COVID-19 tests.

According to family members of residents who’ve reached out to the Chronicle, Pine Acres sends a weekly newsletter to family members who have loved ones in the facility to update them on case count, safety measures and other information, including encouraging a review of everyone’s Do Not Resuscitate orders.