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Every resident at Bartlesville Health & Rehab Community was tested by staff from the Ascension St. John Jane Phillips Medical Center for COVID-19 last Wednesday, and Owner Alex Dout said 33 residents and 12 employees tested positive for the virus. Four residents have been hospitalized, and their condition at this time is unknown.

The hospital has fought this battle against the "invisible enemy" known as the coronavirus with Bartlesville Health & Rehab since the beginning. Words could not express the gratitude Dout had for Ascension St. John in this time of crisis.

Dout said Bartlesville Health & Rehab immediately contacted Burggraf Restoration as soon as they got the test results back. He said they had them sanitize the entire building, and now they have what they are calling a “COVID Ward” for their positive residents to keep them separate from the negative patients.

Burgraff Restoration has used air scrubbers in the care facility. Dout said they have sanitized the walls, the ceiling, the furniture and much more. He said the hardest thing when it came to COVID Ward was that they could not create a big enough area until they knew what type of situation they were up against, and once they did, they had the ward up within a day.

Negative pressure is being used in the COVID Ward. All patients in that wing are in stable condition.

12 nurses are working with the residents at this time, and Dout said everyone is doing an excellent job in working around the clock to defeat the virus in their facility. However, they are short staffed, and Dout said they could use anyone with nursing experience to help them at this time.

Every protocol from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oklahoma State Department of Health are being followed closely and carefully at this time. Dout said they are going above and beyond those recommendations at Bartlesville Health & Rehab. He said both groups have been there for them and have supplied them with whatever they might need at the care facility.

When employees and residents were tested last week, Dout said they were not displaying signs or symptoms of the coronavirus. He said they looked just as healthy as anybody else.

The coronavirus is asymptomatic, and Dout said that is a scary thing. He said the public needs to understand that someone may not look sick, but they could very well be infected with the virus.

Safety systems were in place a month prior to the testing that took place at Bartlesville Health & Rehab. Dout said they constantly checked the residents' temperatures, and they had shut off all visitation. No one was to come into the building unless it was absolutely necessary. The measures were in place, but an outbreak still happened, and Dout said people need to take care of themselves.

President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Moore, and Angie Bidleman, with Ascension St. John, along with the entire staff were highly praised by Dout. He said they all have a special place in heaven.

Appreciation especially went out to Douts staff who has worked tirelessly by his side with little to no breaks. Dout said he has been at Bartlesville Health & Rehab every day since last Sunday, and he is not leaving. He said they are going to fight this together, because they want to protect their residents and get the virus contained.

Dedication is the word to describe the hard work by all involved. A mobile shower unit has been established at Bartlesville Health & Rehab so employees can shower before they go home. Dout said this is so they can keep themselves and their families safe. He said it is not dire straits at their facility, but he had to shift their employees to 12-hour shifts.

No one has had a day off since last Sunday, and hydroxchloroquine has been used to help treat the residents and employees. Dout said they have worked 12 to 18 hours a day to get the situation under control. He said he never would have dreamed that he would be in a fight this big in his 26 years of health care.

A ton of support has come to Bartlesville Health & Rehab from Elder Care. Dout said there are many people thank and he wishes he had time to thank everyone at this time for their help. He said a day will come when he can thank them properly.

By the grace of God, Dout believes they will get through this; God will pull them through this situation.