(Sedgwick County, Kan.) – Sedgwick County partnered with Ascension Living Via Christi Village – Broadmoor, Caritas Center, the Center at Waterfront, Kansas Masonic Home, and Medicalodges Wichita to jointly provide an update on newly identified clusters. 

Ascension Living Via Christi Village - Broadmoor, 1240 N. Broadmoor, Wichita, KS
10 cases (three staff, seven residents) have been identified.
All positive staff and residents have recovered. Testing is done once a week for residents, and twice weekly for staff.

“Every action and measure we put in place reflects our commitment to protecting people who are at higher risk for adverse health complications. At Ascension Living Via Christi Village - Broadmoor, we also have been implementing precautions and protocols established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as local and state health departments to protect residents, associates and visitors. Precautions include the implementation of visitation restrictions designed to protect our residents, associates and families; comprehensive screening of all who enter our community; universal face masking of all associates and clinical partners; stringent deep cleaning; and are maintaining open communications with family members. We will continue to implement ways to keep our residents and associates safe,” said Molly Gaus, Vice President – Marketing and Communications.

“Any residents with a positive test or who are symptomatic are being isolated in a designated unit and treated in accordance with guidance from the CDC. Those residents are cared for by designated healthcare personnel who do not interact with other residents or units within the community. Residents who do not have symptoms related to COVID-19 or tested negatively are treated in a separate part of the building and are cared for by a different designated team to mitigate any possible exposure to COVID-19. Our teams are doing a heroic job in providing care and adapting to these unprecedented times as we provide care to all who have underlying medical conditions that have brought them to our community. In the midst of all of these clinical precautions, our focus remains on ensuring our residents and families feel safe and connected during this time.”

 

Caritas Center (Adorers of the Blood of Christ), 1400 S. Sheridan ST, Wichita, KS
Five cases (four staff, one resident) have been identified. 
All staff and residents have been tested, and they are continuing to provide follow-up testing. The resident has recovered.

“Four of our employees, and one resident, tested positive for COVID-19 on October 28, 2020. The staff are asymptomatic, but are isolating at home, and will not return until they have met the criteria for safe return and consulted with a health care provider,” said Cheryl Wittenauer, Communications Director.

“We discovered the positive tests because of our due diligence and regular surveillance testing. We are exercising caution and taking steps recommended by health authorities to prevent further spread. We are committed to the well-being of our sisters and employees.” 

 

The Center at Waterfront, 1541 N Lindberg Circle, Wichita, KS
Four cases (three staff, one resident) have been identified. 
Testing occurs twice weekly.

“During our mandatory CMS and KDHE staff COVID-19 testing, three staff members tested positive for COVID-19. Patients were tested; 1 patient tested positive. The patient continues to exhibit no symptoms of the disease. No further patients have developed symptoms. We will continue to provide routine testing of our staff and patients as directed by the Sedgwick County Health Department. Patients and patient emergency contacts were notified of the findings,” stated Dr. John Womack, Medical Director.

“The Center at Waterfront has and will continue to work with Sedgwick County Health Department and follow their recommendations. “With the high prevalence of COVID-19 in our community, it is not surprising that we are seeing a few health care workers test positive at every facility. The design of The Center at Waterfront allows us to completely isolate any positive patient to a quarantined unit. Like all the facilities in Sedgwick County, we are continuing to test our employees regularly to try to catch every possible exposure and do our part to keep our community safe.”

 

Kansas Masonic Home, 402 S. Martinson, Wichita, KS
21 cases (10 staff, 11 residents) have been identified.
All staff and residents are tested twice weekly.

“The Kansas Masonic Home has been using Abbott COVID-19 Ag Cards for all testing. This has allowed us real time information to identify any positive cases instead of waiting on lab results, said Michael R. Miller, Chief Executive Officer. “Our priority is to provide all residents with exceptional care during this difficult time.”

 

Medicalodges Wichita, 2280 Minneapolis, Wichita, KS
19 cases (15 staff, one resident) have been identified.
Residents and staff are tested twice weekly.

"Medicalodges Wichita has been closely following the recommendations of the CDC, state and local health authorities and has been working closely with the Sedgwick County Health Department,” said Staci Cardenas, Sr. Regional Vice President.

“We intend to focus on the care of our residents and protect their privacy as well as that of our employees at this time. Additional information and ongoing updates may be obtained at https://www.medicalodgeswichita.com/.”

 

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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