Woman stunned that nursing home transferred 97-year-old aunt to facility with COVID-19 outbreak

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    Normandy, MO (KMOV) — Kimberly Caffey was stunned to find out a Normandy nursing home transferred her 97-year-old aunt to Frontier Health and Rehab in St. Charles, a nursing facility with an outbreak of coronavirus cases and deaths.

“I couldn’t understand why,” said Caffey.

Caffey said employees at Oakwood Estates nursing facility told her they moved her aunt because the facility is understaffed.

“I think that’s crazy because they always have staffing issues,” she said.

Frontier Health and Rehab in St. Charles has reported 64 positive cases in residents and 20 deaths related to the virus.

“We didn’t see this coming, no other nursing home could have seen this coming,” said Craig Workman.

Workman, with Frontier Health, said their facility is one of a select few in the St. Louis metro area that is actually accepting new patients.

“We’ve had a lot of recoveries and people sent home because they recovered from COVID,” said Workman.

However, Caffey said any move is concerning because her 97-year-old aunt has not tested positive for the virus.

News 4 has made multiple attempts to get answers from Oakwood Estates about this move.

Since the outbreak began in March, Workman said they’ve been adapting by closing communal areas and instituting quarantines.

Workman said they’ve beefed up staff and are better equipped with PPE, and Frontier now has a unit to provide rehab for COVID-19 patients.

Workman said several hospitals and senior facilities are using them for their resources.

“We’re doing everything we can to protect the health and safety of all residents,” he said.

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