10/20 Residents, employee test positive for COVID-19

Two health care residents and a direct resident care employee at Farmington Presbyterian Manor have tested positive for COVID-19. This brings our seven-day total to 2 residents and 5 employees.

The positive tests resulted from ongoing testing at our community of both employees and staff. On Monday, October 5, we tested 112 residents and 124 staff members. No staff members were positive as a result of that testing. However, the direct care employee began to notice symptoms on Tuesday, October 6, resulting in a positive test at an area urgent care.

The residents were tested as part of ongoing measures related to employee positive tests from September. The employees were tested as part of our ongoing surveillance testing.

Surveillance testing requires 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 of between 5 and 10 percent for COVID-19 tests, our campus has been testing employees once a week.

The residents are being cared for in isolation. One is asymptomatic while the other has signs and symptoms of the virus.

The employee is recovering at home.

We have notified the St. Francois County Health Department and per their recommendation we will retest all residents next Monday, October 12. We will continue our surveillance testing of employees.

The COVID positive residents will remain in isolation and be cared for by designated staff. We will follow CDC and KDHE guidelines for when the residents may come out of isolation. Under the current guidelines, symptomatic residents may leave isolation when at least 72 hours have passed since resolution of the resident’s fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and the resident’s symptoms have improved and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared. Asymptomatic positive residents will quarantine for 14 days. Designated staff members are following doctor’s orders for treatment protocols and following CDC infection prevention protocols.

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-inducing medications and the employee’s symptoms  have improved and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.

“We continue to prioritize resident and employee health and safety,” said Jane Hull, executive director.

Farmington Presbyterian Manor continues to screen all employees as they enter the community building for a shift and before they have any direct contact with residents.  In addition, staff members are wearing masks per CDC recommendations.

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