McKay Healthcare temporarily relocates COVID-19 residents
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 4 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | November 8, 2020 8:29 PM
SOAP LAKE — McKay Healthcare and Rehabilitation officials announced Friday that COVID-19 cases were identified at the facility, but those residents since have been relocated and staff quarantined.
Director Erica Gaertner said facility staff were managing 13 active cases of coronavirus among residents and 10 cases among employees.
However, those with active cases no longer were in the facility, she said, after an update was posted Thursday on the McKay website. Residents who tested positive for coronavirus had been temporarily transferred to Avalon Health and Rehabilitation Center in Pasco.
“This center specializes in caring for COVID positive elderly residents. Once the residents recover and complete their COVID isolation period, we are planning on their return to McKay,” Gaertner said.
“McKay and its staff are taking every step recommended by authorities to prepare the facility for the return of the residents,” she said.
Staff and residents who tested negative will continue to receive frequent and regular testing to monitor for new infections.
More stringent testing procedures come into effect when a facility has an initial positive test, Gaertner said in an earlier interview.
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