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For Immediate Release
September 1, 2020
CONTACT
Kate Flavin

316-660-9370

Four New COVID-19 Clusters in Sedgwick County

(Sedgwick County, Kan.) – Sedgwick County has partnered with four adult care homes or independent living facilities to jointly provide an update on newly identified clusters.

Sedgwick Plaza, 2455 N Woodlawn Blvd, Wichita, KS

  • 14 cases (five residents, nine staff)
  • No deaths

“The health and safety of our senior living community’s residents and associates remains our top priority. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we implemented extensive and proactive preventive efforts, which included being early adopters of social distancing policies, heightened sanitization, daily monitoring of residents and associates, and regular updates to our residents, families, and associates.

In our ongoing commitment to responsible transparency and proactive communication, we previously shared with our residents, family members, and associates that we were notified that our community has been impacted by COVID-19, as have so many locations across the world. As a result of that impact we completed additional testing of asymptomatic residents and associates. Any individual with a positive test result is in quarantine in alignment with standard precautionary measures. Additionally all individuals have been asymptomatic and remain asymptomatic, and there are no other residents or associates displaying symptoms of COVID-19 at this time.”

 

Wichita Care and Rehab, 4007 E Lincoln St, Wichita, KS

  • 8 cases (one resident, seven staff)
  • No deaths

“During this unprecedented time, our priority remains providing exceptional care for our residents. In early March, we implemented stringent infection control procedures in accordance with CMS, CDC and KDHE guidelines. These include screening all staff members prior to working, hand hygiene and PPE for staff members and residents, and a strict no-visitation policy – while our staff helps make sure residents still connect with loved ones through other methods such as phone calls, videoconferencing and socially distanced closed window visits.

On July 1 and August 18, the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) completed COVID-19 infection control inspections of our facility with no deficiencies reported in either instance. To date, we have had one resident test positive for COVID-19. This resident is asymptomatic, isolated in our special COVID-19 Unit, and doing well. None of our direct-care nursing staff have tested positive for COVID-19, although to date a total of seven employees have tested positive. Six have recovered and returned to work and one is recovering at home.”

 

Stratford Home, 1425 N Stratford Ln, Wichita, KS 

  • Seven cases (four residents, three staff)
  • No deaths
  • All residents and staff have been tested

“All residents in the home at Stratford are asymptomatic. Stratford received a zero-deficiency infection control survey prior to the cluster. All staff are screened daily prior to start of their shift and are required to wear masks and other PPE equipment. All residents are also screened daily for temperature or any symptoms. Currently we are doing everything possible to quarantine the situation at hand. Stratford has taken extra cleaning measures, required more use of PPE, vitals for all residents every shift, and greater restrictions/screens on outside visitors including home health and hospice. With allowing alternative visits for loved ones.”

 

Meridian Rehabilitation & Health Center, 1555 N Meridian, Wichita, KS 

  • 18 cases (12 residents, 6 staff)
  • No deaths

Sedgwick County investigates reports of notifiable diseases, like COVID-19. If a case is identified in an adult care home, Sedgwick County recommends that the facility isolate any symptomatic people away from other residents. Residents and staff are tested, 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 facility to ensure all close contacts are identified and are properly quarantined or isolated.

 

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