Nursing assistant, 31, who starred in 'stay home' poster dies of coronavirus

A dedicated nursing assistant who starred in a poster urging people to stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus has been killed by Covid-19. Denny Darby, 31, was killed by the disease on May 20. He died 31 days after he and his fellow health care workers at the Fulton Center nursing home in Gloversville, New York, posed for photos asking people to self-isolate.

They starred in a comical collage saying ‘Stay home so we can make Covid disappear like Carole Baskin’s husband’ – a joking reference to Netflix documentary Tiger King.

Denny’s job saw him feed and bathe elderly residents. He vowed to continue caring for his patients even after the nursing home saw its first Covid-19 diagnoses. His cousin Elizabeth Duplago said: ‘He was not going to let his patients lack for care.

‘He made a promise he was going to go in there every day and take care of those people. He ended up dying from doing what he loved to do.’ Denny began working as a nursing assistant a decade ago, and was dedicated to caring for the elderly despite the long hours, hard work and low pay.

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The Fulton Center has so far seen 109 residents and 21 workers test positive for coronavirus – more than half the 199 diagnoses recorded across Fulton County since the outbreak began. Six patients have so-far died there, with locals speaking of their heartbreak at hearing Denny had died too.

The carer lived with girlfriend Staci Morrison and was a father figure to her two young sons. Denny’s funeral was conducted by Presbyterian minister the Reverend Bonnie Orth earlier this month, with some mourners forced to stand outside the funeral home for the service because of social distancing measures.

Orth paid a glowing tribute to Denny afterwards, telling CNHI: ‘I don’t think it was just a job for Denny. It was a calling. He was obviously called to that position. I know he is going to be really missed by a lot of the residents at Fulton Center and the staff. He was very well loved by everyone.

‘This is so very difficult for his family. But it’s also difficult for the residents who counted on him. Somebody like him who really does care is not something you run across all the time.’

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