2 more Bonaventure seniors in Tri-Cities test positive for coronavirus. Others tested

Two more residents of Bonaventure Senior Living in south Richland have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and are being treated at area hospitals, according to the company.

The first death caused by the novel coronavirus in the Tri-Cities area was a woman in her 80s, who shared a suite with her husband in the independent living section of Bonaventure.

In addition to the two additional cases at Bonaventure, the center is waiting for the results of tests for three more residents.

Two other residents tested negative, the company told the Tri-City Herald.

It’s not known whether other senior living communities in the Tri-Cities also have residents with positive cases.

The Benton-Franklin Health District reported 16 confirmed positive cases in the Tri-Cities as of Monday, with Bonaventure providing the Herald with additional information.

The two Bonaventure residents with new positive tests are among the 97 residents of the center’s independent living section.

Those residents have suites and are free to come and go from the center.

Before the coronavirus outbreak they could eat in the center’s communal dining room or cook in their own kitchens and participate in social events and group outings.

Unlike the 75 assisted living residents at Bonaventure, they receive no medical services at the site.

2 residents hospitalized

One of the people who tested positive is improving and could be released from a Tri-Cities hospital soon, said Jeremiah Gray, director of operations for Oregon-based Bonaventure Senior Living.

Her husband has been tested, but has not received results yet.

Bonaventure is working with the hospital to prepare for her return and are discussing whether she should stay in Bonaventure’s assisted living section temporarily to receive medical monitoring while her husband remains in isolation in the couple’s independent living suite at Bonaventure.

The second new Bonaventure case is a man now in the intensive care unit of a Tri-Cities hospital.

He is improving and may soon no longer require a ventilator, Gray said.

A test result is pending for a fourth resident who had an independent living suite at Bonaventure and recently died.

The person had serious underlying health conditions, and his doctor does not expect the coronavirus test to be positive, Gray said.

Bonaventure assisted living

The two negative test results for Bonaventure patients have been for residents of its assisted living center.

They include a resident who died of causes that appear unrelated to coronavirus, and a woman who is currently hospitalized with other health issues.

A third assisted living resident was tested after he began feeling tired and unwell, but he lacked typical symptoms such as a fever.

His test results are pending, but in the meantime he is feeling better, Gray said.

Bonaventure continues precautions as if he does have COVID-19.

Staff are wearing additional protective equipment when they are around residents who are awaiting test results.

All residents are quarantined in their rooms, and although independent living residents cannot be required to adhere to the quarantine, staff are imploring them not to go out in the community where they may become infected.

In addition, the dining room is closed, group outings are canceled and no visitors are allowed.

The temperatures of residents and staff are checked two to three times a day.

Specialist advises Bonaventure

The state of Washington sent an infectious control specialist to the Richland center after a Bonaventure resident became the first person confirmed to have died of COVID-19 in the Tri-Cities area. She died March 14 or 15.

The specialist confirmed the center was taking needed steps, including for staff training and for use of protective equipment, according to Bonaventure.

Her only suggestion was to replace goggles being worn by staff with face shields, according to Bonaventure.

Test results on the Bonaventure woman who died from COVID-19 were not available until days after her death. Her husband died while she was hospitalized at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.

It’s unclear whether his death, listed on his death certificate as caused by a heart attack, also was related to the novel coronavirus.

The couple had traveled to the Redmond, Wash, area March 2-4 and she was not feeling well when they returned, according to Bonaventure. Redmond is in King County, the heart of the coronavirus outbreak in Washington state.

The couple voluntarily self-quarantined in their suite because of the wife’s illness from the time they returned to the Tri-Cities until she went to the hospital March 12, according to Bonaventure.

They had no contact with Bonaventure staff while they self-quarantined in their independent living suite, according to Bonaventure.

This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 4:55 PM.