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A Wichita Presbyterian Manor employee tests positive for COVID-19

A Wichita Presbyterian Manor employee tested positive this week for COVID-19. The employee, who is not involved in providing direct resident care, is in isolation and quarantined at home.

The employee last worked July 29 and passed the employee screening. During the shift, the employee reported a close personal contact had tested positive for COVID-19. The employee was sent home and instructed to get tested for the virus before returning to work. The employee was tested July 31, and we were notified today that the employee has tested positive for COVID-19.  

“Wichita Presbyterian Manor’s top priority is the safety of our residents and staff members,” said Jeanne Gerstenkorn, PMMA’s infection preventionist and vice president for health and wellness.

The Sedgwick County Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Epidemiology Hotline have been notified. The health department recommends testing employees who were within 6 feet of the positive employee for 10 minutes or longer on July 29. Through contact tracing, five employees have been identified. The employees will be tested this week and will quarantine as required.

Wichita Presbyterian Manor will continue screening employees as they enter the community building at the beginning of their shift and before the employees have any direct contact with residents. These screening measures include taking staff temperatures and asking a set of questions about their health status, COVID-19 exposure risks and reviewing a list of COVID-19 symptoms. Employees who have a fever or report feeling unwell are not allowed to work and are asked to get tested for COVID-19 if they have symptoms of the disease. These measures have been in place since March 13 and continue to be updated as CDC guidance changes.

We encourage all staff members to follow CDC guidelines and best practices as these are continually updated.  We have been screening employees as they enter the community building for a shift and before employees have any direct contact with residents.  We educate all staff to stay at home if they are experiencing symptoms of a respiratory illness or not feeling well.

The employee is in quarantine and recuperating at home. We follow CDC and KDHE guidelines in determining when an employee may return to work.  Under the current guidelines, the employee may return to work when at least 72 hours have passed since resolution of the employee’s fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and the employee’s symptoms have improved and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared. Upon the employee’s return to work, we will follow CDC recommendations related to work practices and restrictions.

For more information about Wichita Presbyterian Manor’s response, go to PMMA’s (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America’s) website, presbyterianmanors.org/media-room.

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