KINGWOOD — A non-clinical employee at Pine Ridge Nursing Home in Kingwood has been diagnosed with COVID-19, the Preston County Health Department announced Monday.
Testing at the nursing home was done as a result of Gov. Jim Justice’s Executive Order 27-20 issued on April 17, requiring all residents and staff at nursing homes be tested. That included Pine Ridge and Hopemont State Hospital, Preston Health Department Director VJ. Davis said.
“We are still waiting on some of the test results and will report any further positive cases should there be any,” the department said in a news release.
“The individual had little contact with patients at the facility,” according to the release. The health department is working closely with West Virginia DHHR Infectious Disease Epidemiology to identify anyone who may have had close contact with the individual, including family members, friends, residents and health care professionals.
According to the department, it was notified on Sunday of the 13th individual in Preston County testing positive for COVID-19. Upon investigation, it was determined the individual is a non-clinical employee at Pine Ridge Nursing Home in Kingwood.
“Because of the ease of spread in a long-term care setting and the severity of illness that occurs in residents with COVID-19, a single case of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in a long-term care facility is defined as an outbreak,” the department said.
According to its website, Pine Ridge is a 120-bed skilled nursing center. It was formerly known as Heartland of Preston County.
