IOWA CITY, Iowa — 64 employees who work at the University of Iowa Health Care system have self-reported to the center that they have tested positive for COVID-19.
"Because of HIPAA, we don’t know how many employees have tested negative, only those who tested positive," said Molly Rossiter, a spokeswoman for UIHC. "And please keep in mind that there have been 64 positive tests out of more than 15,000 employees – which includes support staff, food and nutrition, housekeeping, administrative, concierge services, security, etc., in addition to health care providers."
Right now, there are 23 coronavirus adult inpatients at the medical center. Two patients are juveniles being treated for coronavirus. In the past 24 hours, 254 telehealth screenings for flu-like illnesses have been performed by UIHC, according to website data provided by the center. Patients at the center are also donating their plasma to help fight the virus.
As community transmission of COVID-19 increases, determining whether health care worker infections are acquired in the workplace or in the community becomes more difficult, according to UIHC
Also, per CDC guidance, symptomatic health care workers are often prioritized for COVID-19 testing. For that reason, the population tested for COVID-19 at UIHC represents a larger proportion of HCWs compared to the community population.
Health care workers at the facility are getting creative to help coronavirus patients communicate with their families as well.
