2 dead at Sheboygan nursing home, Wisconsin National Guard called in for testing

SHEBOYGAN, WIs. (CBS 58) -- The Coronavirus is now deadly inside Sunny Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Sheboygan.

“Any time you have one person sick it’s serious," said Colinda Nappa, executive director of Sunny Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Last week, local public health officials became aware of the outbreak.

Ten people have since contracted the virus: two staff members and eight residents.

Two of those residents have died, and staffing is also in crisis.

“We’ve got 66% of our CNAs that are on quarantine, 100% of our LPNs on quarantine and we have 44% of our RNs on quarantine," Nappa added.

State and county health and emergency leaders are also investigating.

The Wisconsin National Guard was called in to conduct testing on Sunday.

“When we were testing the staff outside it was a drive-thru testing lanes where our personnel did the swabbing analysis," Wisconsin National Guard Capt. Joe Trovato said.

Nappa said residents and about two-thirds of staff were tested.

Those workers who were not tested here will have to visit their primary care doctors.

And now, under expanded visitation restrictions, Sunny Ridge is dealing with another issue.

The facility does not have enough electronic devices for residents to video chat with their families and doctors.

They are asking for public donations.

“We’d like to keep all the equipment on the same floor," Nappa said. “So we’d like to get more equipment so that residents can talk to their families.”

Nappa told CBS 58 that her staff is concerned, but dedicated to help the residents – who they also call family.

She stressed that Sunny Ridge is in need of staffing help and looking for volunteer in all areas: cooks, nurses, CNAs.

The facility can also help with CNA training.