Rolla Presbyterian Manor resident loses battle with COVID-19

A resident who previously tested positive for COVID-19 has died at Rolla Presbyterian Manor.

“The entire Rolla Presbyterian Manor family is mourning today,” said Ann Caudill, executive director. “It is always difficult to lose one of our beloved residents, and our hearts are broken.”

The resident was being cared for by designated employees in a special isolation area for COVID-19 positive residents. COVID-positive residents are cared for according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for transmission-based infection prevention protocols and physician’s orders.

The campus continues to conduct routine surveillance testing of employees and weekly outbreak testing for residents in health care and assisted living. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires surveillance testing of all employees, agency employees, volunteers, hospice, lab and therapy providers at our campus to be tested for COVID-19 on a frequency determined by our county’s COVID-19 testing positivity rate. The next round of tests will be conducted Monday, November 16.

Rolla Presbyterian Manor will continue to work with the Phelps County Health Department and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MDHSS) to stop the outbreak. Due to the outbreak, the community had a focused infection control survey this week by representatives of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The surveyors found no deficiencies in Rolla Presbyterian Manor’s infection control practices.

All employees, residents, and visitors are encouraged to follow CDC guidelines and best practices as these are continually updated. The community regularly reinforces with all staff that an employee should not report to work if he or she is experiencing symptoms of a respiratory illness or not feeling well.  The community educates all residents and their families regarding preventive measures to slow the spread to COVID-19 including social distancing, practicing good hand hygiene, wearing an appropriate face covering, and sheltering in place within the community to the greatest extent possible.

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

‍