KAUKAUNA, Wis.(WFRV)- A COVID-19 outbreak at St. Paul’s elderly services in Kaukauna has staff asking for the public’s help. The latest information was posted on the residential living facility’s Facebook page, which outlined that four residents have died from complication connected to COVID-19. Two residents are currently hospitalized with the virus, and thirty-three residents have been diagnosed and quarantined at the facility.

In an interview on Thursday, Sondra Norder, President and CEO of St. Paul’s Elder Services, said that they have made it a priority to make the public aware of the situation. ” From the beginning of this pandemic, we have really taken the approach of being totally transparent with the community with what’s happening here,” said Norder. She also said that she wants to maintain a baseline of trust with the community. “This has been completely devastating to our staff. We believe that one of our staff members brought the virus in and we have made it a point to screen our staff daily,” said Norder. Testing for staff is done weekly and throughout the pandemic along with surveillance testing.

In the nursing home portion of the facility there are one hundred and seventeen patients, and throughout the entire campus there are two hundred and thirty residents. There is an active isolation unit that was added on in 2015, and is currently being used to house the patients who are positive. In that unit, there is special air-handling systems to exchange the air in the rooms multiple times per hour. Staff members are fully geared up in full protective gear when entering that area of the facility.

Fore the time being, visits are prohibited as the outbreak continues to move through the facility. ” In June we were allowing outdoor visits, but because of the outbreak, we had to halt that,”said Norder. They also reportedly had to halt that activity because it was resource intensive and at this time they need every resource in staffing available to combat this issue.

Norder has a clear message for the public as a plea for help in getting COVID-19 under control. “This is a virus that has been called a perfect killing machine. If you are feeling ill, please stay home. If you are headed out, please wear a mask. This is something that we have been warning the community about for months and we need the communities help with keeping this virus under control,” said Norder. St. Paul’s has a partnership with Beta Care which has been responsible for the turn around time on the test results. For more information on St. Paul Elder Services, visit their social media page: https://www.facebook.com/St-Paul-Elder-Services