Lawrence Presbyterian Manor employee tests COVID-19 positive

A Lawrence Presbyterian Manor direct-resident care employee tested positive this week for COVID-19. The employee is in isolation and quarantined at home.

The employee last worked Sunday, August 9, in the health care center and passed the employee screening. The employee was tested for COVID-19 on Monday, August 10, and called to report a positive test Tuesday evening, August 11.

This positive test result places our reopening plans on hold. We will reinstitute the strict restrictions on group dining and activities and continue the restrictions on visitation.

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

The Douglas County Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Epidemiology Hotline have been notified. The health department recommends contact tracing and testing residents and employees who had close contact with the COVID-positive employee. Through this process, 4 employees were identified and tested today. The employees will remain off work for 10 days. Additionally, 10 residents have been identified and will be tested on Friday, August 14. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines exposure as being within 6 feet of a symptomatic person for 10 minutes or longer.

Families have been called to alert them to the potential exposure, and all state and county mandatory required reporting agencies have been notified.

All staff members 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 are not feeling well.

The employee is recuperating at home and must be COVID-19-free before returning to work. 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. Asymptomatic employees must self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to work. Upon the employee’s return to work, we will follow CDC recommendations related to work practices and restrictions.

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

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