OKAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Twenty-four hours after they hung up of KFOR, PARCway Acute Recovery Center is now explaining why they had staff members who tested positive for COVID-19 working their normal shift.
“We love her and we just don’t want to lose her because of this,” Syd Lowery said.
Lowery says she frantically calls PARCway Post Acute Recovery Center twice a day to check on her grandmother.
The 87-year-old is battling COVID-19 inside Oklahoma City’s PARCway Post Acute Recovery Center.
According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, 17 residents have tested positive and two have died.
“Some of those workers may not be taking it as serious until now, because they are on the news!” Lowery said.
Lowery tells KFOR she was baffled when she saw our story Thursday night.
“Eighty percent of your workers have it?” reporter Peyton Yager asked.
“Right,” a PARCway worker said.
But PARCway had a different story for us on Friday.
“It’s actually less than 50 percent,” Clinical Consultant John McFarlane said.
PARCway says they had no choice but to have positive staffers come in on Thursday to work while waiting for outsourced caregivers to arrive.
They have a designated wing for the COVID-19 patients to separate them from the non-COVID-19 residents.
“If we would have not utilized those COVID-19 positive staff to work with COVID-19 positive residents, it would’ve caused staffing shortage,” McFarlane said. “This recommendation comes straight from the CDC guidelines reading “
Plans are being developed to allow asymptomatic HCP who have had an unprotected exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19 to continue to work.
- These HCP should still report temperature and absence of symptoms each day before starting work.
- These HCP should wear a facemask (for source control) while at work for 14 days after the exposure event.
- A face mask instead of a cloth face covering should be used by these HCP for source control during this time period while in the facility.
However, starting Friday, the center assures KFOR all positive personnel are at home.
But Lowery can’t help but wonder if it’s already too late.
“They are just playing ‘let’s smooth this out and make it okay,’” Lowery said.
PARCway tells KFOR they have enough PPE to supply all of their workers.
The staff plans to have a virtual town hall next week for families to ask questions.
Continued Coronavirus Coverage
