Westmoreland Manor staff to be tested for coronavirus

All staff at Westmoreland Manor will again be tested for coronavirus.

Commissioners on Thursday cut a deal with Excela Health to test the staff of the county owned nursing home in Hempfield as part of a federal mandate put in place this week.

The county will pay Excela $105 per test.

“The baseline tests started this week and will determine future testing,” said county solicitor Melissa Guiddy.

More than 400 staffers work at the Manor, so the initial testing will cost about $42,000. Whether additional testing of staff is required will be determined at a later date and based on the number of staffers, if any, found to be infected, Guiddy said.

Residents won’t be tested.

The additional testing will be paid for from $3.9 million in federal stimulus money the Manor received to assist operations and cover costs associated with the pandemic.

All staff and residents were tested for coronavirus in June as part of a state mandate, which found one employee was infected.

Outbreaks at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities have been a focus both in Pennsylvania and throughout the country.

The state’s Department of Health reported two-thirds of the 7,913 deaths in Pennsylvania attributed to covid-19 are connected to long-term care or congregate living facilities. In Westmoreland County, the state said 31 of 50 coronavirus-related deaths are attributed to nursing homes.

State officials reported that coronavirus cases have been reported at 23 care facilities in Westmoreland County, with 216 residents and 64 staffers testing positive.

Since the onset of the pandemic in March, three Manor staffers and a private nurse tested positive. No residents have been diagnosed with the virus.

The last positive test at the Manor was identified in early July and halted in-person visits with residents just day after they were reinstated following a four-month hiatus.

County officials announced this week that in-person visits at the Manor have restarted.