Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1504533.015 - American Lutheran Church

Inspection Information - Office: Iowa 0751910

Investigation Summary

On November 21, 2020, an employee who had worked as a Certified Medication/Nursing Assistant died from a COVID-19 infection. The employee worked on a staff of 61 that provided nursing care at a 74-bed skilled nursing facility. The facility did not have any known COVID-19 positive cases in residents or staff from the onset of the pandemic until the end of October 2020. A coworker was exposed to COVID-19 at church after close contact with a member, who later tested positive after the employee was diagnosed. The coworker began showing mild COVID-19 symptoms on Friday October 23rd, 2020, five days following the exposure incident at church. The coworker who tested positive was the facility's sole activity director and a Certified Nursing Assistant whose job duties involved working in close proximity to coworkers and residents, including the employee, on October 23rd and October 26th before receiving a rapid COVID-19 test. The coworker tested positive for COVID-19 while at still at work on Monday, October 26, 2020, and was removed from the workplace for quarantine. This represented the first known case of COVID-19 in this facility. N95 respirators were available but not routinely worn during the exposure timeline from October 23, 2020, to October 26, 2020. Following the first reported confirmed case, 11 additional coworkers and approximately 37 residents tested positive for COVID-19 over the next two weeks. The employee tested positive for COVID-19 on November 2, 2020; 7 to 10 days following potential exposure to the first positive COVID-19 case within the facility.

Keywords: Infectious Disease