Presbyterian Manor reports new positive cases of COVID-19 Oct 12

As daily case numbers for COVID-19 continue to climb in St. Francois County, Farmington Presbyterian Manor received new testing results from mass testing occurring on October 12.

The campus tested 111 residents and 121 employees on Monday, October 12. Of the residents tested, 107 tests were negative and 4 tests were positive. The COVID-positive residents were moved to the COVID-19 isolation area and are being cared for by staff.

Of the employee tests, 117 were negative and 4 were positive. We previously reported one of the employees to residents and families on Saturday, October 10 after the employee tested positive on Friday with a point-of-care rapid antigen test. The employee was removed from the schedule and asked to participate in the surveillance testing on Monday to confirm the positive result. When an individual tests positive with a point-of-care rapid antigen test, PMMA (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America) policy requires confirmation with a second non-rapid test.

The second and third employees are essential health care workers who last worked on Monday, October 12, and passed pre-shift screening. Both employees began to experience signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and received rapid point-of-care tests. Both cases were confirmed with the results of Monday’s testing, which were received on Wednesday.

The final employee is a non-direct resident care employee who last worked on Tuesday, October 13. The employee passed pre-shift screening.

The St. Francois County Health Department has been notified and recommends continuing with the current testing strategy. Residents and employees will be tested again on Monday, October 19.

CMS requires surveillance testing of all employees, agency employees, volunteers, hospice, lab and therapy providers at our campus 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 COVID positive residents will remain in isolation and be cared for by designated staff. We will follow CDC guidelines for when the residents may come out of isolation. Under the current guidelines, symptomatic residents may leave isolation when at least 24 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.

The employees will recuperate at home. We follow CDC guidelines in determining when an employee may return to work.  Under the current guidelines, employees may return to work when at least 24 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. Asymptomatic positive employees will quarantine for 14 days.

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.