HICKORY, N.C. — Two employees at a Hickory nursing home have died after testing positive for the coronavirus. Currently, there are 12 staff members and 21 residents with coronavirus at the Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation Viewmont.
Colleagues and friends held a candlelight vigil outside of the Brian Center on Wednesday night in honor of Paul Glass and Carla Wilson. They died within a day of each other after getting the virus.
Family members of Carla Wilson said she loved her job as a nurse at the Brian Center. She was always looking out for others.
“My mom was, for lack of a better term, an angel,” said Sarah Wilson, her daughter.
Wilson started nursing so she could take care of her own parents and had a passion for working with older patients.
“Ever since she started nursing, she wanted to be in nursing homes and I asked her many times why, and she said because people forget about them," Wilson said. "They're not like infants who have parents to go home to. They need you, and they needed her."
When the virus hit, and residents tested positive, she knew they needed her even more. Still, Wilson's family was surprised when she got coronavirus. Even more so when her battle with it ended so quickly.
“It was like she's going to be fine, she's going to sleep it off, everything will be fine. And she was not,” her daughter said.
"He had a strong charisma about him," a coworker and friend of Glass's said. "He worked hard and as a CNA poured his life out to these residents."
Glass's friend said Glass tried to retire three times but kept coming back -- he was seen as a father figure at the Brian Center.
A spokesperson for the Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation released this statement to WCNC Charlotte:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two of our staff members. Out of respect for their privacy we cannot comment on their medical conditions or the circumstances surrounding their death. These individuals were hard working, diligent and loyal staff who worked every day to provide quality care to the residents we have the privilege to serve. Center staff will certainly miss their bright faces and enthusiastic attitudes. There will be a memorial service at the center to honor them and their service to the Brian Center Health and Rehabilitation/Hickory Viewmont community.”