60-year-old woman dies from COVID-19 after temporary stay in rehab

ATLANTA - A 60-year-old grandmother who went to a rehab center after a fall at home has since succumbed to COVID-19.

Patsy Hampton had only planned to stay at Sadie Mays Health and Rehabilitation Center temporarily to get back on her feet.  Her daughter tells FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor the stay was going well until the facility closed its doors when COVID-19 started to spread.

Letitia Washington said she went for three window visits to see her mom.  She says on that third visit on April 3rd, she realizes something was terribly wrong.

"On the third visit I was very upset because she wasn't able to talk to me, she didn't know who I was. She looked like she was about to die at that time, " Mrs. Washington recalled.

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Mrs. Washington sais she got a call from a nurse later that night and Sadie Mays ended up rushing Ms. Hampton to Grady Hospital. It wasn't long before she got the dreaded diagnosis of COVID-19. Ms. Hampton had underlying conditions, went into intensive care and died days later. 

"It's heartbreaking to lose your mother because I am an only child. I am just at a loss right now," Mrs. Washington lamented.

FOX 5 News checked with the Fulton County Department of Health to get statistics on the skilled care facility.

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Forty of the 164 residents have tested positive and Ms. Hampton is the only death. Sixteen of the staff members tested positive for the virus and there are no deaths among staffers. Ms. Hampton's daughter believes the facility was not equipped to handle the global pandemic and did not have the proper PPE on hand when she had her porch visits.

"No, no they didn't have gloves or masks. They just brought her to the window in the layout chair.," Mrs. Washington insisted.

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Sadie Mays released a statement late Wednesday that said the facility offers it condolences to the family and believes that provided the best possible care for Ms. Hampton.   

RELATED: CoronavirusNOW.com, FOX launches national hub for COVID-19 news and updates.

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