WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Sedgwick County has identified new COVID-19 groups in three adult care homes in Wichita:
Reflection Living, 1377 N. Iroquois, Wichita, 67203
· Seven cases (five residents, two employees)
· No deaths
“From day one, our top priority has been to protect our residents and staff while providing quality care to our residents,” said Regional Manager Kristy Tuner, RN. “Our staff is screened daily before the start of their shift and they are required to wear a mask at all times. We do not allow outside visitors, however, families are allowed alternatives to keep in touch with loved ones. Although this is very difficult for everyone involved, our primary goal is to decrease the risk of exposure as much as possible for our residents. Currently, we are doing everything we can to quarantine the situation: frequent cleaning, heavy use of PPE, increased resident screening, and visitation restrictions on what is most essential to meet the medical needs of our residents.
She continues: “The clinical team implemented infection control procedures following the recommended guidelines and received a zero deficiency infection control survey in our 5 Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services homes before the group.”
Wichita Homestead, 12221 W. Maple St., Wichita, 67235
· 18 cases (nine residents, nine employees)
· One death (resident)
· All residents and staff have been screened
· Two test cycles have been carried out.
“As of right now, Homestead of Wichita is caring for eight positive COVID-19 residents who are currently asymptomatic,” said Midwest Health chief marketing officer Ali Ellis. “All eight are residents of our memory care neighborhood, which is an area specially designed to care for elderly people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. All positive residents of COVID-19 in our care initially tested positive on July 17, and since then no additional residents have tested positive.
Homestead of Wichita also offers assisted living in a separate area of the facility, but no assisted living residents were COVID-19 positive or positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. To mitigate the risk of transmission, no staff member is shared between assisted living and memory care.
Two rounds of COVID-19 testing have been completed at Homestead of Wichita. The first tests on July 17 found that there were nine residents who tested positive for COVID-19, while the follow-up test on July 24 determined that there were no new cases of COVID-19. The results for the second round are encouraging since no additional resident was COVID-19 positive. Although there is still the risk of the incubation period from exposure, negative results from resident testing indicate that infectious disease protocols are working to protect residents. “
Platinum Care Home, 5701 E. 17th St. N., Wichita, 67208
· Less than five cases
· No deaths
· Residents and staff will be re-evaluated at the end of the week
Sedgwick County investigates reports of notifiable diseases, such as COVID-19. If a case is identified in an adult care home, Sedgwick County recommends that the facility isolate symptomatic individuals from other residents. Residents and staff are screened, either by the Health Department at no cost or through the facility. The facility monitors all residents and staff for symptoms. The Health Department works with the center to ensure that all close contacts are identified and quarantined or properly isolated.
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