Two Newton Presbyterian Manor residents test positive for COVID-19

Two Newton Presbyterian Manor assisted living residents have tested positive for COVID-19.

On Sunday, June 13, an assisted living resident began exhibiting signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and was administered a rapid point-of-care (POC) test.  The test result was positive. The resident’s spouse has been placed in quarantine pending results of subsequent testing.

On Wednesday, the campus was notified a second assisted living resident tested positive for COVID-19. The resident had been off-site since Sunday.

The Harvey County Health Department has been notified. The health department has recommended testing all non-vaccinated employees on Monday, June 21, which will fulfill the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) mandated testing requirement. Any non-vaccinated residents in the assisted living neighborhood also will be tested on Monday, June 21.

The campus will follow CDC and KDHE guidelines for when the residents may come out of isolation. Under the current guidelines, symptomatic residents may leave isolation when at least 72 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 at least 10 days.

With these cases, our 7-day total for new COVID-19 cases is 2 residents.  At this time, indoor visitation is suspended in assisted living. Outdoor visitation remains available. Visitation is not affected in the health care center.

All employees and residents 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 Newton Presbyterian Manor’s response, go to PMMA’s (Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America’s) website, presbyterianmanors.org/media-room.