Topeka announces third party contractor tests positive for COVID-19

Topeka Presbyterian Manor announces that a third party, non-direct resident care contractor has tested positive for COVID-19.

“We continue to prioritize the safety of our residents, employees and contract employees,” said Heather Pilkinton, executive director of Topeka Presbyterian Manor.

The Shawnee County Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Epidemiology Hotline have been notified. Because the contractor did not have direct contact with any residents or employees for an extended period of time, no additional testing is recommended. The individual is asymptomatic.

The positive test is the result of ongoing weekly testing at the community.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has mandated surveillance testing of staff. 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. Based on our county positivity rate for COVID-19 tests, our campus is testing staff once a week.

The contractor who tested positive for the virus is recovering at home and will remain in isolation until cleared to return to work by the Health Department. Per CDC guidelines, symptomatic team members may return to work once they have been symptom free for 72 hours without the aid of a fever reducer and demonstrate improvement in respiratory symptoms, and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.  Asymptomatic team members must to quarantine for 14 days before returning to work.   Upon their return to work, we will follow CDC recommendations related to work practices and restrictions.  

All team members are encouraged to follow CDC guidelines and best practices as these are continually updated. The community regularly reinforces with all staff that an individual should not report to work if he or she is experiencing symptoms of a respiratory illness or not feeling well.

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

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