Wichita Presbyterian Manor releases fresh COVID-19 test results

Two new cases of COVID-19 were detected at Wichita Presbyterian Manor this week.

The campus completed mass testing for health care and PATH® (Post-Acute to Home) residents on Monday, January 25, and two rounds of employee surveillance testing January 25 and January 27. All resident test results were negative. Two employees tested positive in testing conducted January 25. All employee tests January 27 were negative for the virus.

One essential health care employee and one non-direct resident care employee tested positive for the virus. The employees were both at work Tuesday, January 26, when their test results were received. Both employees passed pre-shift employee screening and wore personal protective equipment as required. They were immediately sent home to quarantine in accordance with KDHE and CDC guidelines.  Contact tracing identified three employees with possible exposure risk, who will quarantine as directed by the Sedgwick County Health Department as a precaution.

The Sedgwick County Health Department and Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Epidemiology Hotline have been notified. Employee surveillance testing will continue February 1, and will continue as required based on the county positivity rate. Our cumulative total since January 1 is 10, with 9 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 1.

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.

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