Community Update

OMC Clinic Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19; OMC and Clallam County Quickly Act

PORT ANGELES  (September 29, 2020) – Yesterday the OMC leadership team was notified of a clinic employee who tested positive to COVID-19 over the weekend.

The employee chose to obtain testing Sunday evening after noticing symptoms. From that point, the employee followed Olympic Medical Center policies and protocols, and notified OMC’s employee health department and is now in quarantine. OMC and Clallam County Health and Human Services immediately instituted contact tracing protocols.

Under the guidance of the county health department, Olympic Medical Center continues to follow appropriate protocols to contact employees and patients who may have been in contact with this individual. Potential exposures are localized to a single clinic service, and any employees and patients who have been potentially exposed to the individual have been or are in the process of being notified. Contact testing is in progress. One high-risk contact between the positive employee and a co-worker received a rapid test, which came back negative. That employee is currently on leave in isolation, and will be tested again in a few days for good measure.

The hospital, clinics and outpatient departments continue to be safe for patients thanks to stringent safety measures. The extensive precautions in place and the use of Personal Protective Equipment make the risk of transmission in patient and caregiver interactions very low.

“What we continue to emphasize with the health care workforce and our community is continued vigilance and adherence to universal masking and social distancing requirements among our friends and co-workers,” says Darryl Wolfe, chief executive officer, Olympic Medical Center.