MIDLAND, Texas — Midland Medical Lodge is working to stop the spread of COVID-19 at its nursing facility.
Eight people have tested positive, including four administrative employees, a part-time nurse, and three residents. Both of those patients are at Midland Memorial Hospital.
NewsWest 9 spoke with the daughter of one of the administrative employees who tested positive for the virus.
She tells us her mom, Belinda Steadmon, has worked at Midland Medical Lodge for five years. She takes care of the seniors in our community who can not take care of themselves.
“She goes in to take care of people who need assistance themselves," Heather Quarford, daughter of an employee from Medical Lodge said.
Heather never imagined her mom would become someone who needed medical attention. Belinda started to not feel well in early April.
“Her birthday was April 2 and it went downhill from there," Quarford said. "One day she would feel a little bit better but then the next day she’s being rushed to the hospital because she couldn’t breathe.”
Belinda spent seven days at Midland Memorial Hospital. She was recently released and is on oxygen. Her family does not know where exactly she caught the virus.
The Medical Lodge's first positive COVID-19 case was reported on April 3.
“I didn’t expect it to get as widespread at her facility," Quarford said. "One case had been confirmed by one of her coworkers but we didn’t expect it to spread as rapidly as it did because they’re following all of the CDC guidelines."
The Medical Lodge says they are in daily contact with the health department and MMH.
They have created an isolation wing, screen everyone at the facility every four hours and are testing anyone who is symptomatic.
“The biggest sources of outbreaks have been in nursing home communities so it’s one of our biggest concerns," Russell Meyers, CEO Midland Memorial Hospital said. "There’s a population of older, more vulnerable patients there who could become ill and need hospital care."
Meyers says they are monitoring the situation closely and we want to stay close to that and remain prepared.
One of the ways they are remaining prepared is by keeping those positive cases in isolation.
Even though Belinda is getting better, doctors have told her she will not be able to return to work for at least four to six weeks.
MORE FROM NEWSWEST 9: