ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — Patients are being admitted again at CenterPointe Hospital in St. Charles County after dozens of staff members and patients tested positive for the coronavirus.
CenterPointe, which offers mental health and substance abuse services, temporarily discontinued admissions on Monday. At the time, 15 staff members and three patients tested positive for COVID-19. Since, then the number rose to 27 staffers and four patients. All of them are in quarantine, the hospital said in a news release.
Since Monday, CenterPointe officials said patient care areas underwent extensive cleaning and disinfecting.
“After thorough measures to combat the virus in our facility, we are confident that it is safe to resume the intake of patients,” said Dr. Azfar Mailk, Chief Medical Officer at CenterPointe. “We also know that by doing so, we can help relieve the stress on the region’s healthcare systems by diverting patients with behavioral health and addiction needs here, instead of to hospitals where they would take desperately needed beds and staff attention that is needed to fight COVID-19.”
More than 60 staff members have been tested for the virus. On Friday, hospital officials said there were no new positive cases involving staff members or patients.
“The fact that there are no new positive cases today indicate to us that efforts to control the spread are working,” said CenterPointe CEO Scott Williams.
The hospital said it’s taking the temperature of all staffers and vendors who enter the facility.
Earlier this week, some workers told 5 On Your Side the hospital acted a little too late. Nine employees reached out to 5 On Your Side voicing concerns.
They all wanted to remain anonymous, but they believe the hospital was not equipped to handle this. And employees say issues started before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Families of patients also reached out to 5 On Your Side.
They remained anonymous but said they weren't notified about the outbreak taking place.
"We sent our loved one there for you to take care for them. You should tell them that, so they can choose if they need to pull them out of that hospital," one person told us.
"They didn't give anyone that choice because it's been a secret," another loved one said.