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VANCOUVER, Washington – A COVID-19 epidemic has spread to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver, WA.
Over the past week, according to a statement sent from PeaceHealth, 30 patients tested positive for COVID-19 who were not initially admitted for the virus and tested negative upon entry to hospital.
Six employees who have ties to COVID-19 patient care have tested positive and 86 employees have been placed in self-quarantine to ensure the safety of all patients and PeaceHealth workers.
“Clark County Public Health is working closely with PeaceHealth to ensure that anyone who may have been exposed is notified and that all cases are isolated,” said Dr Alan Melnick, Health Officer of the Clark County and Director of Public Health. “These steps help protect the health of patients and PeaceHealth staff.”
PeaceHealth said its infection prevention specialists began working immediately to understand the root cause of the exposure and to help prevent further exposures.
“I have full confidence in our highly trained healthcare professionals to handle this recent incident,” said Lawrence Neville, MD, Chief Medical Officer. . “We have been treating patients with COVID-19 for 11 months and have released nearly 600”.
Although PeaceHealth has said it adheres to CDC and state guidelines, including employees wearing personal protective equipment, masks, taking daily temperatures of all employees, testing all admitted patients, restricting visitors and caring for COVID-19 patients in dedicated and isolated units, the virus is still spreading.
“Unfortunately, it reminds us that COVID stays in our community and can spread very quickly. We all need to be vigilant about physical distancing, wearing masks and limiting our gatherings, ”Neville said.
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