Senior Living Facilities Are Coronavirus Hotspots. Now, Families Wonder If They Should Bring Loved Ones Home

In March, not long after Bill Passman’s parents moved into an assisted living residence in Maryland, his 94-year-old father developed a cough. At first the family didn’t think much of it, even though fears about the coronavirus had recently sent the facility into lockdown.

Bill was more concerned about helping his parents figure out how to use Zoom so the family could still talk.”We did get [my parents] to click on the Zoom link, joined it — and the audio wasn’t working,” he recalled.

So Bill, who lives in Lexington, bought his parents a new Chromebook. He sent his brother in Maryland to deliver it.

“Literally, as he’s getting to the door to hand it inside so they can wipe it down and take it to their room, an ambulance pulls up,” Bill said. “And that was for my dad.”

Bill’s father, Richard, was running a fever. That, combined with the chronic cough, sparked concerns about the coronavirus. At the hospital, Richard’s condition deteriorated suddenly. He died that night.

Bill’s brother, Hap Passman, was allowed a special exception to visit their mother in quarantine to break the news. He donned a hospital gown, a face covering and gloves. The minute he walked in, he said, it was clear his mother, Minna, had guessed what had happened.

Read the rest of this story at WBUR’s website.