York Hospital’s Infection Control team, led by Evangeline Thibodeau, MD, infectious disease specialist, and under the leadership of the Maine CDC, is currently investigating a COVID-19 cluster of four staff members working on the Hospital’s Medical-Surgical team at the main campus in York. The cases, identified on December 6, have been contained, and York Hospital continues to provide uninterrupted, safe patient care to all areas of the hospital, along with all York Hospital outpatient community sites, which remain unaffected by the outbreak.
In immediate response to the cluster, we have implemented a plan to test all potentially exposed caregivers and patients. We will continue to test these caregivers every five days, until all test negative for 14 days. Additionally, we are contacting all discharged patients, who may have had close contact with the affected staff during their stay, offering immediate testing, along with a request to quarantine. “This outbreak, due to its isolated area of impact, does not warrant widespread testing of all caregivers. We instead, are directing our efforts toward those patients and healthcare workers who have experienced direct contact with the affected staff,” offered Dr. Thibodeau. Our Infection Control team, in partnership with the Maine CDC, is currently working to identify the possible factors contributing to the cluster.
York Hospital remains committed, every day, to maintaining the most secure environment possible for our caregivers and patients alike. We urge our patients not to delay seeking care when it is needed, whether for an urgent issue or a routine checkup. York Hospital leadership and staff continually re-invigorate our commitment and focus on CDC guidelines, along with current hospital protocol that often exceeds CDC expectations. In addition, we continue to mandate pre-procedural COVID-testing for all surgical patients, required since May of this year.
We look forward to providing safe and uninterrupted care for all who enter our doors, along with transparency and cooperation with the state and with our community during these challenging times. Updated information will be shared as more becomes available.
For additional information, please contact Community Relations at (207) 351-2385 or [email protected].