Buffalo Hill Terrace staff, residents test negative for COVID-19

All staff and residents at Buffalo Hill Terrace in Kalispell have tested negative for COVID-19, according to a press release from the assisted-living facility’s parent company, Immanuel Lutheran Communities.

Widespread testing was implemented after a female resident tested positive for the virus on July 29. All residents were required to quarantine until the facility received 14 days of negative tests since the positive was reported. After two rounds of weekly testing, officials were notified Wednesday that all of these results are negative.

“This is great news, and our community continues to be diligent in protecting our residents against this pandemic,” the press release states. “Our visitation restrictions on campus will continue as recommended by both CMS and the CDC, and our staff is continually working on new engagement activities and opportunities to prioritize human connection for residents, while performing extensive disinfecting, and proper social distancing.”

The resident who tested positive in July “is doing well,” according to the press release, and her recent test also came back negative. The resident was deemed “not contagious” by the state last Friday and was released from isolation at that time, but remained in quarantine until the negative tests came back.

In a prepared statement, Immanuel Lutheran Communities CEO Jason Cronk said, “Our community is extremely appreciative of the support we have received after the unfortunate news a few weeks ago, and we are very blessed to have such amazing staff who acted quickly to prevent the spread of this positive throughout our community.”

To learn more about Immanuel Lutheran Communities’ response to the COVID-19 and infection prevention measures, go to https://www.ilcorp.org/resources/immanuel-lutheran-communities-covid-19-update/