As COVID-19 cases rise in communities across the country, nursing home and assisted living communities must pay close attention to CMS and CDC visitation guidance to ensure they are facilitating safe visitation for residents and families.
For skilled nursing facilities,
CMS’ visitation guidance outlines core principles of infection control which all visitors, residents, and staff should adhere to. It also outlines scenarios where indoor visitation should be limited due to a high risk of COVID-19 transmission, including:
- Unvaccinated residents- if the nursing home’s COVID-19 county positivity rate is more than 10% and less than 70% of residents are fully vaccinated;
- Residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection- whether vaccinated or unvaccinated until they have met the criteria to discontinue Transmission-Based Precautions; and
- Residents in quarantine- whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met criteria for release from quarantine.
Compassionate care visits should continue to be permitted at all times.
CMS has relayed concerns about facilities scheduling visits without sufficient reason for doing so which has limited resident access to visitors, such as only scheduling visits during the daytime. CMS states in their guidance to consider scheduling visits for a specified length of time if necessary, and if there is a sufficient reason for doing so.
Facilities are encouraged to explain the restrictions in CMS’ visitation guidance to their families and residents. Facilities may also use this information to encourage residents or families who are not yet vaccinated to make an informed decision based on this and other factors. Facilities can also offer rapid COVID-19 testing to visitors but cannot make this a requirement of visitation.
The CDC also has
guidance that addresses visitation in all long term care facilities, which is referenced in CMS’ guidance as well. The CDC’s guidance includes practical strategies to facilitate safe visitation and preserve residents’ quality of life.