Worker at veterans nursing home serving Tri-Cities diagnosed with coronavirus

An employee at the Walla Walla Veterans Home has been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.

The facility is a regional nursing home for up to 80 Mid-Columbia veterans or their spouses, including from the Tri-Cities, on the campus of the Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center.

“We know that this news is difficult to hear and want to reassure residents, families and staff that we are doing everything within our power to keep them safe and healthy,” the state agency said in a statement.

The medical center plans to test all residents at the nursing home as a precaution.

Staff also will take temperatures of residents and also check for any symptoms of infection from the new coronavirus every four hours for the next 14 days.

Staff, who have been wearing cloth masks since April 15 as a precaution, will switch to procedure masks when they care for residents.

Additional cleaning is being done where the ill staff member worked in the veterans home. The worker is now in self-isolation at their home.

Staff have been screened for fever and other symptoms when they arrive for work and now will have their temperatures checked at least twice a day.

This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 9:46 AM.