Aberdeen Heights reports independent living resident positive for COVID-19

As St. Louis County continues to see COVID-19 positivity rates above 5-percent, Aberdeen Heights continues its work to keep the virus out of our campus for the health and safety of our residents and employees continues. Late Thursday, community leaders learned that an independent living resident has tested positive for COVID-19.

The resident is self-isolating in their apartment. Aberdeen Heights has conducted contact tracing and determined that one other resident, one employee and one contract service provider were potentially exposed. All three were administered point-of-care testing Friday morning, and all three tested negative for COVID-19.

“The health and safety of our residents and employees drives everything we do,” said Jeanne Gerstenkorn, PMMA vice president for health and wellness and chief infection preventionist.

The community will continue to cooperate with the St. Louis County Health Department and any guidance they provide. As mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the community will conduct surveillance testing for employees Tuesday, September 15.

Due to this positive case, the campus will postpone outdoor visits.

Residents who test positive will remain in isolation until cleared by the St. Louis County Health Department. We will follow CDC guidelines for when the residents may come out of isolation. Under the current guidelines, symptomatic residents may leave isolation when at least 24 hours have passed since resolution of the resident’s fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and the resident’s symptoms have improved and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared. Asymptomatic positive residents will quarantine for 14 days.

Aberdeen Heights continues to screen all employees as they enter the community building for a shift and before they have any direct contact with residents.  In addition, staff members are wearing masks per CDC recommendations.

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

‍