At a COVID-19 briefing Friday afternoon, Grayson County Judge-Executive Kevin Henderson announced the county’s first COVID-19 related death.
The death was a 96-year-old male Grayson Nursing & Rehabilitation (commonly known as Grayson Manor) resident who tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week. The victim, William Dean Smith, was a long time school teacher in the county and a World War II and Korean War veteran.
In addition, Henderson said at the briefing that an 18-year-old female and a 90-year-old female have tested positive for the virus. These mark the sixth and seventh confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Grayson County since Saturday morning and the ninth and tenth cases overall. The 90-year-old patient is a resident of Grayson Nursing & Rehabilitation and is currently in stable condition at the facility.
On Wednesday, Henderson reported that a 67-year-old Grayson County man had tested positive for COVID-19. On Thursday, he said a 20-year-old female employee at Grayson Nursing & Rehabilitation had tested positive for the virus.
Beginning the spate of cases in Grayson County were the announcements over last weekend that two new COVID-19 patients had been diagnosed, a 52-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman.
In his briefing Thursday afternoon, Henderson said if you are a family member of a Grayson Nursing & Rehabilitation resident, you may contact the facility by calling 270-259-3676 and pressing option “0.” He recommends asking for Katy Newton, Melinda Fulkerson or Julie Lee.
Henderson said the staff and management of Grayson Nursing & Rehabilitation are “doing absolutely everything they can possibly do to ensure the safety of their residents.”
Grayson Nursing & Rehabilitation released the following statement to residents and their families:
Grayson Nursing and Rehab is concerned for the ongoing welfare, safety, and health of our residents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring the outbreak of a new virus, COVID-19. The people most likely to become severely ill from COVID-19 are older adults and those with underlying medical conditions.
This letter is to alert you that on April 14, 2020, we learned that one of our residents developed COVID-19. We are actively monitoring our residents for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and are working with our local and state health departments.
All of our staff members continue to follow the CDC’s recommendations to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. These include strict handwashing procedures, and in many circumstances, wearing face masks, gowns and gloves when interacting with residents who are sick.
To minimize the risk of our residents becoming sick with COVID-19, we are suspending all visits to Grayson Nursing and Rehab. This decision is being made in accordance with recommendations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. We understand that connecting with family members is important. Other ways to connect include telephone, email, text or through Skype or Facebook.
By Ken Howlett, News Director, and Sam Gormley, Digital Productions Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
(Headline Photo: William Dean Smith)
