For Immediate Release

August 4, 2020

(Boise, ID) – Idaho Division of Veterans Services (IDVS) regrets to inform you that the Idaho State Veterans Home – Boise (ISVH-Boise) has experienced its first COVID-19 related death.

Last week, ISVH-Boise lost our first resident to this illness. This Veteran had multiple comorbidities which made them more vulnerable to this unprecedented illness and may have contributed to them succumbing to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Our hearts are extremely heavy as we mourn the passing of this Veteran, who served our nation with honor and dignity during its hour of need. This Veteran was a beloved member of the ISVH-Boise community and will be dearly missed.

"On behalf of everyone here, we offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of this Veteran. We are grieving with them," said IDVS Chief Administrator Marv Hagedorn. "Each veteran signifies the importance of military service and we owe a great debt to the less than one percent of Americans who wore a uniform to preserve our rights and freedoms. Our admiration for theses heroes endures."

27 days ago, we received our first laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 within ISVH-Boise. Due to the ongoing perseverance from our team to maintain and keep the virus out of the building, we are pleased to report that we have had no new cases since our initial outbreak (consisting of 2 residents and 3 staff members) and the health district has declared the other resident's COVID-19 related conditions as being resolved.

"With the spike in cases in Ada County in the past month, we have been fortunate that this virus has not spread more widely within our facility," said Chief Administrator Hagedorn. "That is directly a result of the exceptional work of our ISVH-Boise team. They have worked tremendously hard to care for and protect our residents during these trying times."

With this great loss and the loss of so many around the country, the IDVS team remains focused on our mission of caring for and protecting our American Heroes. We are vigilant in this fight against COVID-19, as we continue to follow the directives of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Veterans Administration, and the Idaho State Department of Health. Our priority will always be keeping our residents and our staff safe and healthy.

Access to the Veterans Home remains limited to team members and essential providers only. Anyone entering the building is required to undergo screening. Updates on ISVH-Boise are available by calling (208) 780-1336. The phone line is updated regularly. For more information and resources on Idaho's response to COVID-19 please visit https://coronavirus.idaho.gov/.