Iowa Park medical facility employee is Wichita County's 7th confirmed Covid-19 case
This story has been edited after the Wichita County Health Unit clarified information Thursday morning.
The information reported by the Leader Wednesday night was based on information released from the Wichita County Health Unit.
We regret any confusion and are working to get fully accurate information to the public.
According to the public health district, the 10th patient diagnosed with COVID-19 is between the ages of 60 and 69, has underlying health conditions and is a contact to a previous case. This patient is not a worker at a health faciity. The patient began experiencing symptoms the evening of March 19 and visited their medical provider on March 20. The patient has been in isolation at home since the on-set of symptoms began on March 19. The patient is reporting they did not go anywhere other than the medical visit. Patient number 10 is not, as we reported last night, an employee of a medical facility.
In fact, patient number 7 is the individual who is an employee of Park Clinic, which was not made clear initially. The Electra Memorial Hospital released the timeline for that patient, and was intended to update the status of patient #7.
A timeline released by Park Clinic reported the following:
March 10, 2020: Patient A visted Park Clinic for a non-COVID-19 related visit.
March 22, 2020: Park Clinic notified of employee illness.
March 23, 2020: Park Clinic is made aware that Patient A's spouse tested positive for COVID-19 on March 20.
March 23, 2020: Park Clinic transitions to telehealth visits at noon in preparation for 3-day sanitation closure.
March 24, 2020: Park Clinic employee is diagnosed with COVID-19.
March 25, 2020: Park Clinic and Iowa Park Clinic close for sanitation and 14-day staff quarantine.
There has not yet been an accounting of the locations the 10th victim visited between exposure and diagnosis.
Electra Memorial Hospital, the parent company of Park Clinic, released the following statement:
"News broke today regarding details of a case of COVID-19 in Wichita County that has been connected with Park Clinic. In order to provide the most transparent and up-to-date information to our patients and communities, we would like to provide an accurate timeline of events surrounding this case. We want to ensure our patients, staff, and communities that their health and safety are always of the utmost importance and our top priority. Because of this, we have chosen to close Park Clinic and Iowa Park Clinic for two weeks for sanitation and to allow our Iowa Park staff a mandated 14-day quarantine. During this time, providers will continue to see patients via telehealth visits and telephones will remain operational. Despite these closures, Iowa Park Pharmacy will remain open as they have had no direct patient contact. We are diligently following all COVID-19 guidelines put in place by the CDC and Texas Health and Human Services regarding sanitation and health practices. We appreciate your understanding at this time. "
Electra Memorial Hospital built Iowa Park Clinic in Iowa Park in 2018, and purchased the established Park Clinic in 2019.
The Leader will continue to follow this story and report updates as they become available.
For questions, citizens can call the Health District hotline 940-761-7909.
The hotline hours are Monday to Friday, 8AM to 5PM and Saturday and Sunday, 12PM to 2PM.
Please only call 940-761-7800 for emergencies.
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