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Covid-19 Update: Newton Presbyterian Manor Employee Tests Positive

An essential health care worker at Newton Presbyterian Manor tested positive this week for COVID-19. The employee is in isolation and quarantined at home.

“Our top priority is the safety of our residents and staff members,” said Jeanne Gerstenkorn, PMMA’s infection preventionist and vice president for health and wellness, “We were notified by the Harvey County Health Department on Thursday [April 30] that a staff member has tested positive for COVID-19. This person last worked on April 21.”

The employee passed the employee screening for their shift April 21, but the employee was sent home during the shift when they started feeling unwell. The employee next reported for work April 23, but did not pass the screening and was sent home. The employee was tested April 24 for COVID-19, and the test was negative. The employee did not return to work. On April 28 when the employee was still not feeling well, the employee was tested a second time, and tested positive for COVID-19.

The Harvey County Health Department has advised Newton Presbyterian Manor to monitor residents in health care and memory care and other staff members for five days 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 Harvey County Health Department and the state.

All staff members are following 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.

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

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