Employees, resident test positive for COVID-19 at Wichita
Three direct care employees and one resident have tested positive at Wichita Presbyterian Manor.
Monday, November 9, 154 employees and 44 health care and PATH® (Post-Acute to Home) residents were tested for COVID-19. With all our test results received, we have three positive essential health care workers and one positive PATH resident. All four individuals tested negative November 2 and November 4. A second round of employee surveillance testing was conducted November 11. Those results are pending.
The first employee last worked November 10 in health care. The second employee last worked November 9 in memory care. The third employee last worked November 8 in PATH. All three passed pre-shift screening and wore personal protective equipment (PPE) as required. The employees will recuperate at home.
The resident has been placed in isolation and is being cared for by designated staff.
Health care and PATH residents will be tested again Monday, November 16. Memory care residents also will be tested Monday. Employee surveillance testing will continue Monday and Wednesday, November 18.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires surveillance testing for all employees, agency employees, volunteers, hospice, lab and therapy providers at our campus to be tested on a frequency determined by our county’s COVID-19 testing positivity rate. Based on our county positivity rate for COVID-19 tests, our campus is testing employees twice a week.
The Sedgwick County Health Department and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Epidemiology Hotline have been notified.
“With the positivity rate in Sedgwick County increasing, we remain vigilant in our efforts to keep our residents and employees healthy and safe,” said Jeanne Gerstenkorn, PMMA’s vice president for health and wellness and infection preventionist.
This week, Wichita Presbyterian Manor increased the frequency of surveillance testing to twice a week when the two-week rolling average climbed above 10% in Sedgwick County. The campus is testing employees on Mondays and Wednesdays. The first round of tests was conducted Monday, November 3. From those tests, one non-direct resident care employee and two direct resident care employees have tested positive for COVID-19. There were 157 employees tested on Monday.
All residents and employees are encouraged to follow CDC guidelines and best practices as these are continually updated. The community regularly reinforces with all staff that an employee should not report to work if he or she is experiencing symptoms of a respiratory illness or not feeling well.
For more information about Wichita Presbyterian Manor’s response, go to PMMA’s (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America’s) website, presbyterianmanors.org/media-room.
