. >> reporter: alix handy lost her mother lona erwin a week ago. the great grandmother died from covid-19 along with eight others at this nursing home. it was hard to not say good-bye. >>> how hard was it to say good-bye? >> i can accept her passing away. but not saying good-bye is eating away at me. >> reporter: sunday morning 100 residents and staff tested positive at this tennessee rehabilitation center. outside baltimore a staggering 77 seniors tested positive here. >> what we need to avoid is literally turning nursing homes into our chilling fields. >> reporter: nationwide long-term facilities house three times the number of patients hospitals do. dr. wasserman said we need to transform more buildings into skilled nursing facilities for seniors with covid-19. >> if we push older adults out of hospitals and icus into nursing homes that will be overwhelmed, in three to four weeks the problem will be ten times greater. >> reporter: it's a dire prediction families are worried sick about. >> it's kind of scary. you don't know what you're sending th