MIDLAND, Texas — On Sunday evening, a 36-hour long transfer process began at the Midland Medical Lodge.
Just before 10 p.m., NewsWest 9 received a statement from the Midland Medical Lodge saying they've decided to transfer all positive residents, and suspected positive residents to Midland Memorial Hospital for further care.
"Our team has been working diligently to stop the spread of COVID-19 at Midland Medical Lodge. This decision has not been easy and the decision has been made for the protection of all current residents," said a representative from the lodge.
The decision was made by the Chief Medical Officer and the facility Medical Directors.
This decision came after the grim total of cases and deaths from the Midland Medical Lodge continue to add up.
Today, five new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Midland County; four of those cases are residents at the Medical Lodge.
In response, officials say the Health and Human Services Commission's Rapid Response Teams will be responding to the facility on Monday.
Out of the eight Midland County COVID-19 related deaths, six of them were also residents that lived in the facility.
The Midland Medical Lodge sent NewsWest9 this statement after the news broke of the eighth death today.
"Together with our Chief Medical Officer and facility Medical Directors we have decided to transfer all positive residents and suspected positive residents to Midland Memorial Hospital for further care. This transfer process will begin immediately and will continue over the next thirty-six hours.
"Our team has been working diligently to stop the spread of COVID-19 at Midland Medical Lodge. This decision has not been easy and the decision has been made for the protection of all current residents.
"We have been working closely with the CDC, Health and Human Services, and the Midland County Health Department and followed all protocols to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 but the threat persists"
The Rapid Response Team is a group of pre-tested nursing staff that's ready to provide relief to the nursing team at the Midland Medical Lodge and give staff members time to be quarantined if needed.
The team consists of one to two registered nurses and an epidemiologist. It will be provided and paid for by the state.
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