As the coronavirus continues to spread across Kansas, the Independent-Reporter asked Kerianne Ehrlich, supervisor of the Ellsworth County Health Department, what would happen when or if a positive case of the virus were to be identified in Ellsworth County. As of this report, no local cases had been reported.

Here is her response:

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment would notify the county health department, triggering a public press release.

“The details would be very limited,” Ehrlich said. “We have to be careful and not give any information out that would identify the person. That’s all related to HIPPA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), a 1996 federal law that restricts access to individuals’ private medical information.”

The release would be followed by an investigation, including an interview with the infected person.

“We would call and ask them where they have been for the last 14 days, and where they could have potentially picked up the virus,” Ehrlich said.

Part of the investigation would be to identify anyone with whom the patient had contact and when their symptoms started.

“That direction comes from the state. They tell us how far to go back, who to contact, and those types of things.

“If we got highly inundated with cases, we can request help from the state, but the initial part of the investigation would start from our office. “The truth is the best thing we can get. Hiding things from us is only going to make it worse in the community. Being up-front and honest with us, we would be able to get better information out and know who all we really need to contact.”

Those in close contact with the patient are asked to track their symptoms at home, including temperature and respiratory status. Health care workers monitor the results.

The county where the person who tests positive for the virus is determined by their physical address.

If the person who tested positive has minor symptoms, they probably would be told to stay at home for 14 days.

A person with severe symptoms will be sent to the Ellsworth County Medical Center for treatment. Once they are in stable condition, the decision will be made to transfer them to an area hospital with an intensive care unit, such as Salina, Hays or Hutchinson. An ICU-equipped hospital would be able to provide the best care.

As of Friday, 19 Ellsworth County residents had been tested for the virus. The test consists of a nasal swab taken at Ellsworth County Medical Center. The test specimen is then sent to the state lab in Topeka, or to Lab Corp., the commercial lab used by ECMC. The turnaround time for results has drastically shortened — going from 12 days in the early days of the crisis to just 48 hours now.

Ehrlich is working with Keith Haberer, emergency management director for Ellsworth and Russell counties, to procure more swabs and testing supplies for the county. “Once we get those supplies, it would allow us to reevaluate the testing criteria.” Ehrlich said people have to have certain symptoms in order to be tested for the coronavirus. If someone knows they have been in contact with a person who has a laboratory-confirmed test, medical personnel check that person for at least two of the following symptoms — fever of 100.4 degrees F, chills, aches, increased fatigue, headache, sore throat, cough or other respiratory issues. Depending upon the results, medical personnel determine if that person is a candidate for testing.

If a person has a history of travel within 14 days of the onset of symptoms and no source of exposure to the virus they may still be a candidate for testing.

Testing priority is given to health care workers, first responders, residents of nursing homes and others in group home, patients who are hospitalized with no other known diagnosis, or individuals who have underlying health conditions. “It’s not a hard set priority.

“It’s not a hard set priority. Again, we base it off of case-by-case.”

If a person calls ECMC or the health department to say they aren’t feeling well, they are told that if their illness is something they think they can manage, they should stay home for seven days. At the end of the seven days, the person will be re-evaluated by a health care worker.

If they meet the criteria and health care officials think they are showing clinical signs along with some of the other risks factors, then they would be considered for testing.

Coronavirus testing supplies are in high demand, so health care workers in Kansas need to make sure they are used in the best way possible.

Ehrlich has been supervisor of the county health department since June 2019 and a licensed registered nurse since 2006. As county health superviser, Ehrlich never imagined she would have to deal with a pandemic.

“Never in a million years did I think our communities would go through anything like that,” she said. “I never thought I would be part of the big picture of all of this going on and just what needs to happen in our communities to keep them safe.”

Ehrlich said it has been quite a learning experience.

“I think I’ve learned better from going through this than I would have ever sitting in a conference or reading through notebooks that we have here,” she said. “Getting to do it firsthand has been the best experience for myself and for all of our staff here.”

Ehrlich said Ellsworth County has greatly improved when it comes to following the stay-at-home order.

“I really think they are trying to do the right thing,” she said. “I think it is hard to grasp the concept of what we mean by stay-at-home. But overall, I do think we’re doing much better.”

Ehrlich said the more Ellsworth County residents can stay home, follow the rules and do what is right, the quicker they are going to get through this crisis.

“Stopping the spread is the key to all of this right now,” she said.

Ehrlich said her greatest satisfaction during this crisis has been learning how many resources and people there are in Ellsworth County who are able to step up and help. As an example, she singled out her relationship with ECMC.

“We had to work together as a team,” she said. “And our relationship has just blossomed with our communication and how we are working so well together.”

Ehrlich said she has enjoyed getting to know all the various groups in the county as well as working with all the different individuals, including city and county officials.

Ehrlich said her biggest challenge has been making the hard decisions she knows will affect the local economy, it’s businesses and individuals.

“I know how it hits them financially,” she said.

Ehrlich stressed to Ellsworth County residents to keep doing what they are doing and pulling together.

“We’ll get through this,” she said. “We’re a strong county. We have a lot of good support. We just each have to do our part to get through it.”

"Never in a million years did I think our communities would go through anything like that."

Kerianne Ehrlich

Ellsworth County Health Department supervisor