Newton Presbyterian Manor residents lose battle with COVID-19

Three residents who previously tested positive for COVID-19 have died at Newton Presbyterian Manor.

“The entire Newton Presbyterian Manor family is mourning today,” said Marc Kessinger, executive director. “It is always difficult to lose one of our beloved residents, and is especially difficult during this pandemic. Our hearts are broken for these residents and for the loss their families are experiencing.”

The residents were being cared for by designated employees in a special isolation area for COVID-19 positive residents. COVID-positive residents are cared for according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for transmission-based infection prevention protocols and physician’s orders.

The campus continues to conduct routine surveillance testing of employees and weekly outbreak testing of residents in health care and assisted living. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires surveillance testing of all employees, agency employees, volunteers, hospice, lab and therapy providers at a frequency determined by our county’s COVID-19 testing positivity rate. A round of testing was completed Monday, November 16, and the test results are still pending.

Newton Presbyterian Manor will continue to work with the Harvey County Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to stop the outbreak.

All employees, residents, and visitors 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.  The community educates all residents and their families regarding preventive measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 including social distancing, practicing good hand hygiene, wearing an appropriate face covering, and sheltering in place within the community to the greatest extent possible.

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