Spokane: Today, we received confirmation of a COVID-19 positive test result for 1 staff member. We are working closely with the Spokane Regional Health District and following guidance from them, Centers for Disease Control, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and our State Department of Health to ensure we are safeguarding our residents and staff.
Residents and staff in the affected areas have already been tested and initial test results have all returned negative. We will retest every 3-7 days until 14 days have passed without a new resident positive. Additional environmental cleaning continues to take place and the Spokane Veterans Home will conduct enhanced surveillance, including 4-hour symptom and temperature checks, for residents in the affected areas for a period of at least 14 days since the recent staff positive test result.
Staff continue to pay close attention to whether they have any symptoms, including the presence of a fever. As part of our ongoing screening process, all staff are screened upon arrival at work each day. This process includes a series of questions around whether symptoms are present and a temperature check. In addition, staff are asked to report any symptoms that occur after coming to work.
The Spokane Veterans Home following guidance from the CMS, will continue to perform regular testing of all long-term care facility staff and residents, as well as any additional testing required due to potential exposures. Currently the rate of positivity in Spokane County requires staff to be tested weekly. Regular testing and testing upon identification of a new positive staff or resident is an important tool in defending against COVID-19 and aids in the identification of asymptomatic carriers. If additional positive cases of COVID-19 among facility staff or residents are identified through testing, WDVA will be sure to provide updates to ensure our staff, residents, families, caregivers, and community are informed of current facility status.
Vaccine Information:
As a part of our continued efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, our home hosted a vaccination clinic today for all unvaccinated staff and residents. We encourage all residents, staff, and community members who are able and eligible to be vaccinated to consider getting vaccinated for COVID-19.
In an effort to provide information as quickly and accurately as possible, we have developed a website to provide information to families and resident representatives, https://www.dva.wa.gov/covid.
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Media Contact
Jennifer Montgomery
Communications Consultant 5
(360) 791-2038– cell
jenniferm@dva.wa.gov