GLENDALE, Ariz. — A Glendale senior living facility says it will now release complete data of coronavirus cases and deaths within its campus; it’s a first across Arizona, according to the facility.
There have been 56 residents and 42 employees at the Glencroft Center for Modern Aging who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of May 15, with 16 residents dying from the virus and 21 who have since recovered, according to its website.
No employees have died from coronavirus and 30 of those workers have recovered.
The senior center is the largest single-location senior living community in Arizona with over 800 residents and 500 staff members.
People over 65 have proven to be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
That demographic accounted for 80% of the state's 651 reported deaths, as of May 15.
The AZDHS has repeatedly come under scrutiny from reporters during Gov. Doug Ducey’s periodic coronavirus updates about its refusal to release information about which senior centers and nursing homes have seen the most severe amount of coronavirus cases.
AZDHS director Cara Christ says those numbers are an issue of individual privacy and is not public information.
12 News and three other Arizona news outlets filed a legal complaint against the department and Christ earlier in May for records related to long-term care facilities with coronavirus outbreaks.
RELATED: 12 News, other Arizona media file suit for records of nursing homes with coronavirus outbreaks
Glencroft says it is only legally obligated to release the data to residents, their families and employees, but they say they’re making the data available to the public for the sake of transparency.
“By releasing this data, we hope it inspires others to do so and encourage our industry to be as transparent as possible,” said Scott McClintock, Glencroft’s Chief Strategy Officer.
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