Pictured is a portion of Betsy Standera’s letter regarding an anguishing three days at Chautauqua Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.

On the holiday weekend of Jan. 16 to 18, the horror and cruelty of the pandemic was front and center for those connected to the Chautauqua Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Dunkirk. On the outside, area families with loved ones as patients at the location were dealing with a sense of hopelessness, despair and uncertainty.

Inside the facility was just as heart-wrenching. “I am still in the ‘red zone,'” a patient who was surrounded by others who had tested positive wrote regarding that weekend to the OBSERVER. “Most everyone is in the red zone here.”

Confined to section 1A, that patient is 92-year-old Betsy Standera. She was a witness to the most excruciating and painful days at the Temple Road location. She saw the best from a staff caring for those at the facility who at the same time were dealing with the worst possible outcomes.

“There must be a better part of the facility that I have not seen,” wrote Standera, who said earlier this week she had not contracted the virus. “The obituary list in the paper is everyone I know.”

Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 had not been an issue for this center or many others in Chautauqua County. After the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, everything changed.

Throughout her letter to the OBSERVER, Standera seeks to be elsewhere. With no family, however, she has very few options.

A lifelong Dunkirk resident, she knows many of those who are failing in health due to the virus. Her letter is a plea that comes far too late.

“I try to keep track of the people on my floor,” she writes, noting a neighbor who has become sick. “Tell his daughter to get him out of here or send in an MD to check him. He is not good. I have heard her on the phone to him. Such a good family. … I will look out for him.”

One day later, on Jan. 17, this resident would succumb to the virus. Within a one week’s time, he will be one of at least 10 to pass.

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Carol Tulipane of Silver Creek checks in almost daily on her sister, who also has been at the center throughout this ordeal. Her greatest frustration as someone who cannot make in-person visits is the communication. “It’s terrible,” she says of the situation in a phone interview this week.

Echoing what other families have told the OBSERVER, the phone calls on a daily basis from the administration often provide information with little insight. Those calls, Tulipane noted since the beginning of the outbreak, send a repeating message: one resident, one staff member has contracted the virus.

Those messages, mandated by the state, have not always detailed the deaths. “They hide information,” she said.

On Friday, families of residents at the center indicated the facility had been visited by officials from the state Department of Health.

Tulipane also said she heard from a member of the administration this week. That manager said when reaching out, they try to keep the message “generic.”

That has not sat well with a number of families. Those who have reached out to the newspaper have expressed their frustration since it does not give the full picture. Tulipane said the article in the OBSERVER and The Post-Journal on Jan. 8 that indicated more than 70 staff and residents had tested positive was her first indication of the extent of the spread.

Her sister, who has been virus free through this week, is grateful for the efforts of the staff. “She has an aide that really watches out for her,” Tulipane said. “She tries to keep her safe. … I think she’s wonderful.”

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Dawn Harsch, spokeswoman for VestraCare and the Chautauqua Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, has expressed sympathy regarding the situation over the last month, referring to the virus as the “invisible enemy.” In responding to a number of questions posed by the OBSERVER and Post-Journal, she did not want to speculate on how the virus entered the care facility.

“For nearly a year, our country has witnessed the unpredictability of this virus. … We’re home to the most vulnerable individuals, many of whom have multiple health issues, and are impacted most significantly by the virus,” she said. “The residents in our care are like family to us, and we continue to work together to protect them.”

It is easier said than done. Confinement promotes what has proven to be a deadly spread, especially in care facilities across the county.

Last Tuesday, WCA Home administrator Tammy McCool spoke of the challenges at the Fredonia facility during recent weeks. “Currently, we have all but four residents with COVID,” she wrote on a Facebook post. “Many are in the hospital, and this past week we have lost two residents due to this unseen terrible killer. Moreover, 70% of our staff are out sick. This virus is no joke. It’s real folks.”

Through Thursday, there have been 50 deaths recorded at nursing homes. Seven of the deaths were reported at Absolut Care of Westfield; 24 at Chautauqua Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Dunkirk; 11 at Heritage Green in Greenhurst; and eight at Heritage Village in Gerry.

As a number of local officials call for investigations into New York state’s handling and under-reporting of nursing home deaths throughout the pandemic, one thing has become clear in this region. Most who have died locally have done so within the last month.

Though it does not ease the pain, it does speak to how well all county facilities did the first nine months to keep the virus away from those who were most at risk. “Throughout the pandemic, (Chautauqua Nursing) has followed the guidelines set forth by the CDC and (Department of Health),” Harsch said. “Individuals who come into our facility from the hospital, and those who return after receiving treatment outside the facility, are cohorted on a separate unit where they are monitored for the required 14-day period and then produce a negative COVID test before joining the general population; this has not changed.”

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Employees working at these care facilities have given their all in this time of crisis. While some have been quick to criticize mistakes, no caregiver came into this line of work with the experience or expectation that one day they would be caring for patients during a pandemic.

These front-line workers, just like those in hospitals, have had to work through these challenging times — on site, not at home. There’s a massive emotional toll that comes in working for prevention as well as watching those you have cared for succumb to the world’s greatest challenge and fear at this time.

“It goes without saying that our staff are among the most dedicated, selfless and inspirational people we know,” Harsch said. “Throughout this pandemic they have provided care, comfort and communication in the most trying of times. They have worked hard, fought back tears and pushed forward to provide the best possible care to the residents they love so dearly. We have nothing but the highest respect for the job they do, and for that we say thank you.”

Standera, who now resides in what is considered the “yellow zone” of the Temple Road site, also praised the staff. “I know what’s going on … It’s been hard on them too,” she said, while noting in her letter worries about worker numbers.

“They need more staff in all sections,” she wrote.

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Concerns regarding the recent increase in deaths at county nursing homes have also reached the office of U.S. Rep. Tom Reed. He participates in the weekly calls with officials from hospitals and other care facilities to make sure those providers have resources and supplies.

“Staffing has been a constant struggle,” the Corning Republican said.

He also expressed optimism about the vaccinations that have been taking place in these facilities across the district he serves. “We’re trying to mitigate that … illness exposure that clearly nursing homes represent,” Reed said.

Harsch said the Chautauqua Nursing facility, which has faced issues with employee numbers during this period, is being proactive in cross-training staff, which gives them the ability to work in multiple positions as needed. “This methodology provides our team with a broad knowledge base and the ability to meet our residents’ needs at all times,” she said.

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Jan. 18 is the darkest of days in the facility during this crisis. “I took a walk around,” Standera writes. “Everybody is missing.”

Those residents were all acquaintances — and like family to her. “I could tell you a story about every person on Page 2 (the obituary page),” she writes. “They were all my friends.”