One adult resident on the Crotched Mountain School campus died on Sunday due to complications from COVID-19. An additional two adult resident clients on campus have tested positive, as well as two staff members. All cases are confined to a single adult group home on campus, which is under isolation and being monitored by local and on-campus medical professionals. There are currently no other positive COVID-19 tests for staff or adult clients or students on the campus, Vice President of Communications David Johnson said on Tuesday evening.
The resident, a 46-year-old man, had significant disabilities and a history of respiratory complications prior to COVID-19, Johnson said. He was hospitalized, and the positive test came in later in the day after his death.
“The Crotched Mountain family mourns the loss of one of our residents,” said Ned Olney, President and CEO of Crotched Mountain Foundation. “As an individual with a challenging medical profile he was particularly susceptible to the insidiousness of this virus. Together we grieve and remain vigilant to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
The staff and other clients are currently stable and being monitored, Johnson said, and the campus is communicating with the Department of Public Health on appropriate quarantine protocol.
The school’s illness prevention plan is available at www.crotchedmountain.org/covid19. The plan says the school will begin to conduct academics in the residences starting on March 30, and meals will be served at the residences rather than the cafeteria. The residences are practicing shelter-in-place protocols, and the school is incentivizing staff members to live on campus rather than travel to and from home. Others who can work from home are encouraged to do so, and school and residential program managers are to rotate between 14 days on-campus and 14 days at home.
All services from the school’s Ready Set Connect autism centers are suspended through April 3, at least. Day students remain home until May 4, and will be given educational packets and teacher support throughout the next few weeks. The school is closed to all visitors, and students may only travel off campus for medical visits.