County sees increase in long-term care facility cases

Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor

Kittitas County’s Incident Management Team (IMT) is responding to over 10 more cases of COVID-19 occurring in both long-term care facilities that reported positive tests in the past week. The IMT reports that everyone who has tested positive is stable at this time.

The Kittitas Valley branch of Prestige Post-Acute and Rehab now has five staff members and four facility residents that have tested positive.

Meadows Place Assisted Living Community also now has an additional employee who has tested positive, making two total. Additional test results are pending in association with Meadows Place.

“To those who have family members at Prestige Post-Acute or Meadows Place, we have prepared for months to ensure a quick response to any potential exposures to COVID-19,” The IMT said. “Each of us will do our part and do our best to keep your loved ones safe.”

The IMT is currently conducting mass testing at Prestige Post-Acute. Routine monthly testing will also be implemented routine moving forward. 

Due to the demographics of long-term care facilities, special conditions are considered when addressing cases associated with them. For example, mass testing for long-term care facilities only occurs at the location, with limited personnel who are allowed inside. 

The IMT is in the process of case and contact investigation, and working with the facilities to ensure everyone exposed is in isolation or quarantine.

As of July 13, Kittitas County has 30 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, with 257 tests pending results. Of the county’s total 202 confirmed cases, 172 are considered recovered. The county reports zero deaths related to COVID-19. All data is pulled from the Kittitas County Community Impact Dashboard.