Heritage Specialty Care reports 14 residents have died from coronavirus as of Friday

Fourteen residents at Heritage Specialty Care who had tested positive for COVID-19 have died as of Friday, the long-term care Cedar Rapids facility reported Saturday evening.

The facility has had 60 residents and 30 staff members test positive since March 24, it said.

'Of the 60 residents testing positive, 14 have recovered. Of 30 staff members testing positive, seven are back to work,” the West Des Moines-based company said in a statement released Saturday.

The statement added that, 'for the past three weeks, as an added layer of comfort and support for those residents and families facing end-of-life at Heritage, the Care Initiatives Hospice Cedar Rapids-based team has designated two care givers full-time to serve only at Heritage.

'They have worked alongside the Heritage team both days and evenings to support families through the use of FaceTime and phone calls for closure as well as providing cares and comfort measures for the dying residents not desiring intervention or aggressive treatment.”

Gov. Kim Reynolds mentioned the facility during her March 30 news conference in discussing the high number of positive cases in Linn County.

Senior homes have accounted for approximately 10 percent of Iowa's confirmed COVID-19 cases and 40 percent of its deaths.

'We are also mindful of the stress this situation puts on residents and their families,” the facility said in its statement. 'To that end, we are doing our best to keep the residents and families informed.”