Wichita Presbyterian Manor has released COVID-19 test results
Two employees who had been quarantined due to exposure to another employee who tested positive for COVID-19 last week have tested positive for the virus at Wichita Presbyterian Manor.
Three employees were placed on quarantine last week after another employee tested positive for COVID-19. The three employees were administered rapid point-of-care tests on Monday, February 1, and two of the tests were positive. The diagnoses were confirmed with employee surveillance testing conducted on Monday. All other employee tests were negative, and residents in the health care center and PATH® (Post-Acute to Home) short-term rehabilitation program tested negative as well. All employees tested February 3 were negative for the virus.
Both of the COVID-positive employees are non-direct care staff who passed pre-shift screening and wore personal protective equipment as required during their last shifts worked January 26.
The Sedgwick County Health Department and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Epidemiology Hotline have been notified. Employee surveillance testing will continue February 8, and will continue as required based on the county positivity rate. Our cumulative total since January 1 is 12, with 11 employees and 1 resident.
Resident testing in the health care center and PATH will continue weekly until two rounds of testing with no new positive cases has been completed with no known potential exposures in the neighborhood. The next testing date will be Monday, February 8.
Our focus remains on ensuring the well-being of our residents and employees. We continue to follow all guidance related to patient care, employee safety, and efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19, as provided by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are working closely with Jeanne Gerstenkorn, PMMA’s infection preventionist and vice president for health and wellness, in implementing our Emergent Infectious Disease (EID) Outbreak Management Plan.
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.
As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, it should play an instrumental role in eventually moving toward resuming our normal operations. We are excited to offer our first vaccine clinic for residents and employees today. Every person who receives the vaccine will strengthen the protection for all residents, staff and the community at-large. As the vaccine becomes more widely available, PMMA strongly encourages our families, employees and residents to carefully consider obtaining a vaccine for themselves as well as their loved ones.
For more information about Wichita Presbyterian Manor’s response, go to PMMA’s (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America’s) website, presbyterianmanors.org/media-room.
