At least 17 patients and 10 employees at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, Wash., have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Feb. 3 news release.
Most patients who tested positive were in the first-floor surgical unit, the hospital said. Five patients also recently tested positive on the third floor.
"The current cases under investigation are specific to inpatient units at St. Francis Hospital," St. Francis wrote in the news release. "The outpatient unit of the hospital is separate, and we are limiting staff who transfer between inpatient and outpatient units in light of the current positive cases."
The hospital initially became aware of seven infected patients on the first-floor surgical unit the week of Jan. 25.
St. Francis said these patients had initially tested negative upon admission, and once the positive patients were identified, it began surveillance testing for all patients and any employee who worked on the first-floor surgical unit from Jan. 11-26. It also notified potentially affected patients and workers.
The week of Feb. 1, the hospital expanded testing to additional departments, resulting in the 17 patients and 10 employees who tested positive as of Feb. 2.
"Throughout the pandemic, Federal Way has experienced high incidences of COVID-19 in the community. Despite our best efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, hospitals and healthcare workers are not immune. We are committed to following all CDC and public health guidelines at St. Francis Hospital, and to immediately address any cases as they arise," wrote Cary Evans, vice president for communications and government affairs at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, the combined system formed by Tacoma, Wash.-based CHI Franciscan and Seattle-based Virginia Mason.
St. Francis said admissions to the first-floor surgical unit are being resumed, and COVID-19 patients are being cohorted on the third floor to limit staff interactions between patients who have COVID-19 and those who don't. It said contact tracing and testing continues.