Nurse fights for her life after working at local nursing home

Albion, N.Y. (WHAM) - Siblings Daniel and Casey Conrad say their mother Diane is fighting for her life after working at the nursing home hardest hit by the coronavirus in Orleans County, New York.

"She retired from the state from the nursing [home] and then started working up there per diem because her love for the residents and her love for the coworkers is unbelievable," said Daniel.

Diane Conrad is a licensed practical nurse at Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center, where her children say she contracted the virus. The siblings say their mother has been on a ventilator since Wednesday.

"We took her to the hospital and they told us if we had waited one more day she wouldn't be with us anymore," said Casey, who says she also tested positive for the virus shortly after her mother.

Casey says her mother expressed concerns over the lack of personal protective equipment she was allowed to use while on the clock.

"She would come home crying because they want her to go from one hall with people who had COVID and go to another hall with the same stuff on with people who don't have COVID, which is complete B.S. You should never have to put people at risk ever," Casey said. "She had to ask for the proper PPE. She had to walk around with a mask that was homemade first. She should have had the proper mask first. She had to ask for it for a couple of days in order to get one."

Former staffers tell 13WHAM nearly 50 residents at the home have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than a dozen have died.

April Sample, a certified nursing assistant, said she quit working at the nursing home in March after she tested positive for the virus.

"I came down with a fever and I called and told them I had a fever and I sent a picture to the staffing lady. I was told I had to come in and they would take my temperature at the door and if I didn't have a fever, I was okay to work," said Casey. "I have friends that are still working up there and they are just burned right out. Like I mean you are down a hall with 27 plus residents that are two assist and you can't give them the proper care they deserve. Then you are having aids that are going off of a non-COVID hall, going into a COVID hall and it's just spreading like wildfire there."

Sample and several others say the home is grossly understaffed and while PPE was provided by the health department, they claim management has refused to give them new equipment.

"The gowns, they are not reusable. You are supposed to use them, take them off and throw them away inside the room. You are not supposed to take them off and hang them outside the door where another resident that is a wanderer and doesn't know what they are doing can come up and touch it," said Sample. "I know every single resident that has passed away. Every single resident that has passed away did not deserve it. I know they are there because they need help but a lot of the residents that died from this virus, they were not terminal. And it's all because it hasn't been handled the right way."

"They are doing the best they can with what they have. The issue is that they don't have what they need. They are not being given what they need and they haven't for so long," said Caitlyn Hogan, a former staff member at Villages of Orleans.

The Conrads are among several family members of residents who tell 13WHAM they want to see change now to protect the lives of residents and workers.

"With only 120 beds in that place, I don't know how that is. I blame that on mismanagement, I blame it on ownership, I blame it on not giving your nurses what they need to do their job, to take care of our loved ones. This is just a cry of outrage for the support in the community to step up and do what we need to do to support each other," said Daniel Conrad.

13WHAM reached out the Steve Hefter, the administrator at the Villages of Orleans who sent this statement:

At the Villages of Orleans, there is nothing more important to us than the health and well-being of our residents and staff. Throughout this crisis, we have worked tirelessly to ensure we have adequate personal protective equipment for everyone in our facility. And while supplies of PPE have been limited nationwide, we have made it a priority to work with vendors who can get us the equipment we need to prevent the spread of this virus.

13WHAM also reached out to Attorney General Letitia James who sent us this statement:

“Nursing homes are responsible for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers who are especially at risk during the Coronavirus crisis. We have received complaints about numerous nursing homes facilities. We are actively investigating these complaints and remain concerned about fatality rates, treatment, infection rates, and whether nursing homes are adequately communicating with families of residents."

13WHAM also reached out to the New York State Health Department who sent this statement:

We've said from the start that protecting our most vulnerable populations including people in nursing homes is our top priority and that's why the State acted quickly and aggressively to issue guidance specifically for these facilities on testing, infection control, environmental cleaning, staffing, visitation, admission, readmission, and outreach to residents and families. The Department will continue to work with administrators of private and county nursing homes to do everything possible to protect the health, well-being and privacy of the residents who call these facilities home.”