Update From Administrator – October 2, 2020
October 2, 2020
Dear Families,
As always, our team and I hope this email finds you safe and healthy.
We continue testing our staff and residents at regular intervals as required by CMS, CDC and DPH. We are happy to report that we remain COVID free! We continue testing our staff and residents at regular intervals as required by CMS, CDC and DPH.
Now for the exciting news and updates – Visitation!!
Indoor Visits
As you may have read or seen in the news, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued guidance to states on indoor visits, due to the changing weather. Our latest update from the state Department of Public Health is that we are responsible to develop an indoor visitation plan and policy for our center that is thoughtful, safe, and compliant with the new state guidance. We plan to have more details to share with you ASAP, but please see some notes below on guidelines that we all must follow to ensure for everyone’s health and safety. We are as excited as you must be to hear this news and look forward to seeing you!
Nursing homes and visitors must adhere to the following conditions:
- According to the state guidance, we must limit the number of visitors per patient at one time and limit the total number of visitors in the center at a time. This will be based on the amount of physical space we have available for our designated visitation area, which will be our first-floor dining room area, directly off the lobby.
- We need to limit the duration of visits to help ensure all patients can receive visitors. Just like our outdoor visits, once we have more experience behind us, we can adjust this, if necessary. Visits will be limited to 45 minutes and will be scheduled on the hour; this will allow us ample time to disinfect the area after the visit.
- Cleaning and disinfecting of the designated visitation area will occur by our staff in between visits. This is another factor affecting the amount of time and numbers of visitors we can have in our center.
- Screening for anyone who enters our center – temperature and health screen questionnaire – will take place. This will occur at the front desk as soon as you arrive.
- We cannot allow visitors to move freely throughout our center; visitors will go directly to the designated visitation area, the first-floor dining room area.
- Hand hygiene must be followed and personal protection equipment (PPE) must be worn by visitors.
- Social distancing requirements remain as they do for our outside visits.
- Visits will continue to be supervised
- No more than 3 families will be allowed to schedule a visit at any one time and no more than 3 family members will be allowed for each resident. This will allow as many residents and families to enjoy visitations.
- Hours of visitation will occur between the hours of 11:00AM – 6:00PM and both weekend days are now available for visitation.
- All visits MUST be scheduled. Unscheduled, unsupervised visits are not allowed at this time.
- Tangible items are not to be given to residents during the visit, this includes smoking items. Please bring any and all items to the front desk for distribution.
Indoor, End Stage of Life Care Visits
Should a new case of COVID be identified in the center, all inside visits, except end stage of life, will be temporarily put on hold.
Outside & “Alternative” Visits
Please know that outside and “alternative” visitations will continue. While the weather is changing, we will work to continue to do outside visits on our patio for as long as possible and window visits are still possible. The weather seems to be holding steady for now.
Remember that we do offer iPads for our residents to use for video visits, phone calls, etc. to ensure that you and your loved ones remain in contact, as best as you can during these very uncertain times.
Please call us to let us know your preferences for visitation, we will be discussing visits with our residents as well to determine their wishes.
I understand there have been many changes throughout the course of the pandemic and we truly appreciate your assistance in holding this virus at bay. We do not want an uptick in cases to affect our residents so please help us by following the protocols and wearing the PPE and maintaining a social distance while visiting.
As always, thank you for your patience, your cooperation and assistance and please stay safe and healthy!