A sampling of U.S. hospitals and healthcare sites where employees have tested positive for COVID-19, as reported in October:
Editor's note: This is not an exhaustive list. This webpage was updated throughout the month.
Tennessee
Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health said it identified a cluster of COVID-19 cases at Johnson City Medical Center. As of Oct. 23, 22 workers and six patients had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Oregon
Oregon State Hospital in Salem began testing about 1,900 employees in response to a COVID-19 outbreak tied to one of its units, according to an Oct. 20 notice on the Oregon Health Authority website. As of Oct. 20, three patients and six staff from the affected unit had tested positive for the coronavirus at the public psychiatric facility, hospital officials said in the notice.
Indiana
About 20 staff members at Columbus (Ind.) Regional Health facilities have tested positive for COVID-19 since August, The Republic reported Oct. 24, citing numbers current as of Oct. 20. Overall, 66 Columbus Regional Health staff members have tested positive during the pandemic, spokesperson Kelsey DeClue said, according to the publication.
Colorado
Three workers at Melissa Memorial Hospital in Holyoke, Colo., tested positive for COVID-19, CEO Cathy Harshbarger said Oct. 19, according to the Holyoke Enterprise. As of Oct. 19, the hospital reported four additional symptomatic workers who were considered presumed positive, and four others who were in quarantine because they had family members who were infected, according to the publication.
Washington state
Two employees at Pullman (Wash.) Regional Hospital tested positive for COVID-19, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News reported Oct. 16. A hospital news release cited by the publication says the employees are in the same department.
Officials at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle said 10 employees and four other patients tested positive for COVID-19, TV station KOMO reported Oct. 16. One patient, who had preexisting conditions, later died at the hospital, and the 10 workers are recovering at home, said John Lynch, MD, medical director of Harborview infection prevention and control, according to the station.
An employee at Island Hospital in Anacortes, Wash., tested positive for COVID-19, goskagit.com reported Oct. 2. Hospital officials said a patient who had contact with that worker also tested positive, according to the report.
Massachusetts
A cluster of COVID-19 cases in two medical-surgical units at Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital has been contained, the hospital said in an update Oct. 16. The hospital reported a total of 57 cases potentially connected to the cluster, including 42 employees and 15 patients.
A COVID-19 cluster at Attleboro, Mass.-based Sturdy Memorial Hospital expanded to 14 cases as of Oct. 7. The cluster is believed to have originated in the hospital's Balfour surgical wing.
Kansas
Fifty employees at Gove County Medical Center in Quinter, Kan., including CEO David Caudill, tested positive for COVID-19 over two to three weeks, Mr. Caudill confirmed to Becker's Oct. 16. Twenty-six of the infected employees had recovered and two remained hospitalized as of that date.
West Virginia
A COVID-19 outbreak was reported at Huntington, W.Va.-based Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital. As of Oct. 14, the outbreak was tied to 35 employee cases and 24 patient cases at the state-operated psychiatric hospital.
Arkansas
More than 130 St. Bernards Healthcare employees tested positive for COVID-19 after the health system identified a cluster of positive healthcare workers earlier this month at its flagship facility in Jonesboro, Ark. In a statement shared with Becker's Oct. 13, St. Bernards Healthcare said based on safety measures in place — and the fact that numerous positive employees work in different departments or on different shifts — it believes most COVID-19-positive healthcare workers were exposed outside of the hospital.
California
An employee of Southern Humboldt Health District in Garberville, Calif., tested positive for COVID-19, the North Coast Journal reported Oct. 7. In a statement obtained by the newspaper, CEO Matt Rees said the district notified appropriate agencies and began an investigation as well as additional testing.
Virginia
A COVID-19 outbreak at Central State Hospital in Petersburg, Va., was linked to 18 patients and 11 employees as of Oct. 5, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Lauren Cunningham, spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, told the newspaper the outbreak is confined to one building at the psychiatric facility.
Connecticut
Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., told Becker's Oct. 2 that it would test 80 employees from three departments amid a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility. The hospital did not provide a specific number of infected employees but said several tested positive in the past month. Seven patients had tested positive as of Oct. 2.
Missouri
Dane Henry, the CEO of Lake Regional Health System in Osage Beach, Mo., tested positive for COVID-19. The positive test came as regional cases surged, according to a letter cited by LakeExpo.