SEMINOLE, Fla. -- Freedom Square of Seminole, the long-term care community with one of the state’s deadliest coronavirus outbreaks, is now at the center of two lawsuits both claiming that not enough was done to keep residents safe.

Donald Jack was an avid Cubs fan and a proud grandfather with a big blended family, one who wasn’t with him at the end when the 75-year-old lost his life to COVID-19.

The same for 84-year-old Christopher Pugh, a church going man who loved his faith, singing in the choir, and golfing.

Now, the families of both men are suing Freedom Square of Seminole, saying the elderly care community didn’t do enough to keep residents like Jack and Pugh safe from COVID-19.

The lawsuits state the defendants “chose to place profits over residents and ignore deficiencies in their emergency preparedness plan and in their infection prevention and control program.”

“That’s our position,” said attorney Bennie Lazzara, who is representing both families.  “That the money that was supposed to be going to take care of Mr. Jack and Mr. Pugh and the other residents was going to other places.”

The lawsuits allege Freedom Square failed to “supply or require staff to wear Personal Protective Equipment” and allowed “asymptomatic staff who had been exposed to COVID-19 to continue working at the facility.”

“I think they could’ve been better prepared,” Lazzara said. “And the state surveyors had notified the owners of this facility, the operators of this facility, for two years prior that they had problems with infection control.”

Spectrum Bay News 9 looked into some of those violations after the outbreak in April.  The citations included improper isolation procedures and unsanitary handling of equipment. 

On top of lack of proper infection control, the lawsuits also accuse Freedom Square of failing to provide families “with consistent updates and communication regarding the risk of COVID-19.”

Lazzaro said the families were learning more from watching the news then from staff.

“For me it’s a national disgrace,” said Lazzara.  “Mr. Jack and Mr. Hugh were like hundreds, thousands of elderly, feeble people who placed their trust in the nursing homes to take care of them. Even in a crisis and it looks to me like a total failure.”

Spectrum Bay News 9 reached out to Freedom Square of Seminole and received the following statement:

"According to numbers from the state and District 6 Medical Examiner's reports, 32 residents and one staff member of Freedom Square of Seminole have died due to COVID-19.  The campus includes Freedom Square Rehabilitation & Nursing Services, Seminole Pavilion Rehabilitation & Nursing Services, and The Inn at Freedom Square.

While Freedom Square does not comment on pending litigation, our top priority has been and will continue to be the well-being and safety of our residents and employees since the onset of this pandemic.  We continue to strictly adhere to all guidance from local, state, and federal health agencies.  We have also committed ourselves to the full transparency in communications to residents, families, and employees,” wrote Executive Director Michael Mason.

According to numbers from the state and District 6 Medical Examiner's reports, 32 residents and one staff member of Freedom Square of Seminole have died due to COVID-19.  The campus includes Freedom Square Rehabilitation & Nursing Services, Seminole Pavilion Rehabilitation & Nursing Services, and The Inn at Freedom Square.

STATEMENTS FROM THE FAMILIES OF DONALD JACK AND CHRISTOPHER PUGH

The family of Donald Jack provided the following statement on his life:

(Photo provided by family)

Mr. Jack was born in Chicago, Illinois and moved to Florida in 1974 with his wife and 4 kids. He lived in Seminole for over 40 years. He retired from Jabil Circuit where he was a facilities manager. His job required him to travel the world overseeing the construction of new facilities.

Mr. Jack loved playing golf and watching baseball. He was the World’s biggest Chicago Cubs fan and would travel the country with his beloved family to watch the Cubbies play. His priority and passion in life was spending time with his family.

Mr. Jack also served in the Marine Corp. He was a member of the St. Petersburg and Seminole Jaycees (a community chamber or commerce organization) where he earned a public service award in 1979.

He coached softball and little league teams in the 70's and early 80's. He was very much loved by his family and friends and leaves behind 4 children, 7 grandkids, and 6 great grandkids.

The family of Christopher Pugh provided the following statement on his life: 

(Photo provided by family)

Mr. Pugh was born and raised in Wassail, England and graduated from the Royal College of Art. He moved to Akron, Ohio in the 1960’s, and worked for a design company as an artist. Primarily he would sketch interior and industrial designs. He met his American wife in 1963 while they were working for the same design company. He had two children of his own, a boy and a girl, and later in life a stepdaughter that he was very close with.

While in the states, he primarily lived in Ohio until the 1990s when he moved down to Florida. He became an American citizen in 1998.

Mr. Pugh grew up in England in a family who loved to golf. At a young age he became an avid golfer. His daughter considered this his passion. He loved golf so much that his family is taking part of his ashes to the famous St. Andrew’s course in Scotland. The other part of his ashes are going to be spread at Fox Den, which was his favorite course to play in Ohio.

Mr. Pugh also loved to dance, and even took tap lessons right before he moved to Florida. His family had to go to his dance recital, in which he wore a tuxedo and was the only adult to perform. At his recital, he performed alongside several little girls and was absolutely joyous to show off his new tap skills. Mr. Pugh was also really involved with his church and loved to sing in his church choir. As a result, he also loved to perform karaoke, much to his family’s chagrin.

Mr. Pugh was also very interested in maps, in particular older maps. Any time his family was traveling, whether he was accompanying them or not, he would always follow along on a map their routes and destinations. He was fascinated by them.