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Manor of the Plains employee tests COVID-19 positive

A second essential health care worker at Manor of the Plains has tested positive for COVID-19. The employee last worked on Saturday, May 16.

The employee, who works evening shift in health care, last worked on Saturday, May 16. The employee passed the screening when reporting for work and wore personal protective equipment (PPE) as recommended throughout the shift. The employee was tested for COVID-19 Sunday, May 17 due to a personal contact not affiliated with Manor of the Plains who showed signs and symptoms of the virus, and the results were received late Wednesday, May 20. The employee is recuperating at home and must be COVID-19-free before returning to work.

Manor of the Plains notified the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) epidemiology hotline and the Ford County Health Department immediately after becoming aware of the positive test.

“Our top priority continues to be the safety of our residents and staff members,” said Jeanne Gerstenkorn, PMMA’s infection preventionist and vice president for health and wellness. “We will follow the recommendations of the Ford County Health Department and KDHE.”

The Ford County Health Department has recommended testing the 30 residents who had contact with the employee during their last shift, and the 42 employees who had direct contact with the employee during their shifts on May 14 and May 16. The testing will begin today. Employees will continue to work and utilize standard PPE including masks, gloves and utilization of hand sanitizer and hand hygiene. The tested residents will be isolated in their rooms pending test results. The tests will be overnighted to KDHE for processing.

Any additional employees who desire testing will be referred to the National Guard where they may be tested.

At this time, no residents are showing any signs or symptoms of COVID-19 or respiratory illness. We will continue to monitor residents for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 during every shift.

We will continue to follow KDHE, Ford County Health Department, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to monitor residents in health care and other employees for any signs or symptoms of respiratory illness and signs of COVID-19.

Families have been called to alert them to the potential exposure, and all state and county mandatory required reporting agencies have been notified. The community will follow any additional guidance from the Ford County Health Department, KDHE and the CDC.

Employees are following CDC guidelines and best practices as these are continually updated. The community regularly reinforces with all employees that an employee should not report to work if he or she is experiencing symptoms of a respiratory illness or is not feeling well.

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

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