Nursing homes account for 48% of all Illinois COVID-19 deaths

More than 50 Illinois nursing homes have eclipsed double-digit coronavirus deaths as several facilities reported spikes in their number of cases and deaths in the past week, according to data released Friday by state health officials.

In all, 3,910 new cases were reported this week along with 472 new deaths, according to a count by the Chicago Sun-Times. That brings state nursing home cases to 11,437 and deaths to 1,553. Last week, the state saw one-week increases of 3,229 cases and 456 deaths.

Long-term care facilities now account for 48% of Illinois’ 3,241 COVID-19 deaths, records show.

As was the case last week, the numbers, reported weekly, have inconsistencies from week to week and, because of lags in reporting, appear to be lower than the real-time toll the virus is taking on those facilities. Some homes, for example, reported fewer cases or deaths this week than last, an issue officials have attributed in part to further investigation revealing non-COVID health issues.

This week, 18 more homes reached double-digit deaths, bringing that total to 51 facilities across the state. Twenty-two have reported more than 100 total cases, with two homes over 200.

The largest increase in deaths this week came at Meadowbrook Manor of Bolingbrook, where 16 people died, bringing that home’s total deaths to 26 — the most in the state. ManorCare Hinsdale reported 13 new deaths this week and is up to 19 since the start of the pandemic.

The highest case count at any nursing home in the state is at Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest, with 265 confirmed positives and six deaths. City View Multicare Center in Cicero has 262 cases — an increase of 228 since last week, the largest in the state — and nine deaths.

Tower Hill Healthcare Center in South Elgin and Niles Nursing & Rehabilitation Center both reported increases of more than 100 new cases in the past week.