Residents and staff at a Whitefish nursing home endured one of the deadliest outbreaks of COVID-19 in Montana. These are some of their stories.
Hunter D'Antuono
Donna James, 91, visits with her husband Donald James, 92, with a cellphone through a glass door at Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish on Jan. 13, 2021. Donald is a current resident of the home. The couple has been married for 72 years. “I love you,” said Donna. “I miss my cribbage partner. I’m sick of playing solitaire.” Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Donald James, 92, visits with his wife Donna James, through a glass door at Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish on Jan. 13, 2021. Donald is a current resident of the home. They’ve been married for 72 years. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
TJ Hawkins, 36, a resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish, has a smoke outside the building on Jan. 13, 2021. A native of Mississippi, Hawkins was an infantryman in the Iraq War. He has Huntington’s Disease, a rare, irreversible condition that causes degeneration of nerve cells in the brain. Hawkins and many of his fellow residents contracted COVID last year. “It felt real,” he said. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A sign in the front door of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish reminds those entering to wear a face mask on Jan. 13, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
April Crespin-Brown, a resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center, sits in the nursing home’s lobby in Whitefish on Jan. 7, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Jeffry Lee, 61, a resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish, has a smoke in front of the building on Jan. 7, 2021. Lee is a Navy veteran and was a boat yard worker and commercial fisherman who built his own house before coming to live at Whitefish Care six years ago. His legs were amputated three years ago for medical reasons. He and many of his fellow residents contracted COVID-19 last year. Lee said he did not fall seriously ill. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A painting on the glass of a window at Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish on Jan. 13, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Rock Rothenberger, a resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center, stands in the nursing home’s lobby in Whitefish on Jan. 7, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Robert Davis, 66, a resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish, warms himself by the fireplace in the nursing home’s lobby on Jan. 13, 2021. Davis was a rancher from Browning who broke horses for over three decades. “And then they broke me,” he said. He came to Whitefish Care six months ago after shattering a weak hip in a tumble off his bed. The only time he gets to leave the home is for his dialysis treatments three times a week. Davis and many of his fellow residents contracted COVID-19 last year. He said he experienced no symptoms. “I hate these damn things,” he said, pointing at his mask. “We have to wear these or we get sent back to our rooms, so easier to wear it, even though I don’t like it.” Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Mindy Hamilton, an occupational therapist at Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish, walks resident David Allen back to his room on Jan. 13, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Heather Marshall, an infection control nurse at Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish on Jan. 7, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Debbie Larson, 64, a resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish, sits outside in front of the building on Jan. 7, 2021. She’s lived at Whitefish Care for about a year, and previously worked with special education students at Helena Flats School in Kalispell. She and many of her fellow residents contracted COVID-19 last year. Larson said she did not fall seriously ill. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
Brien Vielle, 60, a resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish, sits in the nursing home’s lobby area on Jan. 13, 2021. He grew up in Browning and was a construction worker and basketball player in his younger years. He and many of his fellow residents contracted COVID-19 last year. “It drained my body,” he said. “It was scary.” Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
David Allen, 82, a resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish, exercises in the nursing home’s gym on Jan. 13, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
A resident of Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center in Whitefish heads down the hall back to his room on Jan. 13, 2021. Hunter D’Antuono | Flathead Beacon
