Two employees at Emporia Presbyterian Manor test positive for COVID-19

Two more Emporia Presbyterian Manor employees have tested for COVID-19 in surveillance testing at the community.

“With the rapidly increasing positivity rate in Lyon County, we remain vigilant in our efforts to keep our residents and employees safe and healthy,” said Jeanne Gerstenkorn, PMMA’s infection preventionist and vice president for health and wellness.

On Monday, 96 employees and 13 residents were tested for COVID-19. All 13 residents were negative. One direct care employee and one non-direct care employee tested positive.

The direct care employee last worked Saturday, October 31, in memory care and passed the employee screening. The second employee last worked Thursday, October 29, and passed pre-shift screening. Both employees wore personal protective equipment as required.

Emporia Presbyterian Manor is surveillance testing employees twice a week as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 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.

The Flint Hills Community Health Department has been notified. We will follow direction from the health department for testing memory care residents next week. All other health care residents and employees will be tested Wednesday, November 4.

The employees are recuperating at home. We follow CDC and KDHE guidelines in determining when an employee may return to work. Under the current CDC and KDHE 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 will quarantine for 14 days. Upon the employee’s return to work, we will follow CDC recommendations related to work practices and restrictions.

Emporia Presbyterian Manor will follow any additional guidance from the health department, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment epidemiology hotline and the CDC.

All 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.

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