Two people have died and more than 50 have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Elisabeth Ludeman Center, an enormous state-run facility for adults with severe disabilities in Park Forest that’s become a virus “hot spot” in the south suburbs.
The majority of cases are residents who live at the facility, but more than a dozen staff members have been infected, Park Forest Mayor Jonathan Vanderbilt said Friday.
And two male residents, ages 50 and 67, died this week from the virus, Vanderbilt said.
Vanderbilt is imploring the public to donate personal protective gear to the facility.
It is most in need of disposable stethoscopes, disposable blood pressure cuffs and disposable gowns. Vanderbilt said he reached out to the Cubs and White Sox asking for the teams’ rain ponchos, which could double as protective gowns for staff at the facility.
“The staff is desperate for this protective gear,” Vanderbilt said. “Many of the residents have underlying health issues, and the number of infections at the facility is expected to rise, that’s the scary part.”
Donations can be dropped off or mailed to the Ludeman Center Building #2 Storeroom at 114 N. Orchard Drive, Park Forest, IL 60466.
Others seeking to help can call the Ludeman Center at (708) 283-3000 ext. 3, Vanderbilt said.
The nonprofit group Parents & Friends of the Ludeman Center has a website — ludemanpflc.org — that also has information on how to donate.
The Center’s 60-acre campus has 40 group homes and about 350 residents. Four of the group homes are quarantined due to exposure. The rest are self isolating out of caution, he said.
The Ludeman Center is the second-largest developmental center in the state.
Nearly half of the village’s 120 confirmed cases are at the Ludeman Center, Vanderbilt said. About 22,000 people live in Park Forest.
A supervisor at the center wasn’t available for comment Friday. A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which runs the facility, didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
