UPDATE (9:15 p.m.) - As of 8 p.m., the facility has tested 70 of 150 employees. The CEO of the facility said all of those tests came back negative.
The first 18 patients to have direct contact with the infected employee have also tested negative.
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ORIGINAL STORY (5:13 p.m.) - "Extensive testing" is being done both on- and off-site on all staff and residents connected to the Vineyard Hills Health Center facility in Templeton. An employee there, who had contact with a relative who contracted COVID-19, tested positive for the novel virus Friday.
As of 3:45 p.m. Saturday, the facility has tested up to 51 employees and all of their test results came back negative for COVID 19, the CEO of the facility said.
San Luis Obispo County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said at a press conference Friday afternoon that the case at Vineyard Hills is the first COVID-19 case at a skilled nursing facility in the county.
Since early March, Vineyard Hills and the other six Compass Health skilled nursing facilities have implemented best practices for the skilled nursing facility industry in light of this global pandemic. These practices include: restricted access from visitors and vendors, daily testing of employees and patients for signs and symptoms, required masking of employees, no employees working at multiple locations, designated on site infection preventionists and has separated all residents into smaller units limiting chances for cross contamination in the event of a confirmed case of the virus," according to a press release.
The CDPH requires all skilled nursing facilities to report any confirmed COVID-19 cases or deaths involving residents or staff daily.
According to Vineyard Hills’ website, the Compass Health Inc. facility on Heather Court provides private, state-funded and Medicare-approved skilled nursing and rehabilitation services.