State issues new guidance for reopening long-term care facilities
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The state has laid out a three-phased plan to reopening long-term care facilities, some of the hardest hit areas during the coronavirus pandemic.
Guidance issued Saturday by Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Rachel Levine states that in order for facilities to begin the process of reopening, they must first meet criteria that will eventually allow them to safely welcome back visitors and volunteers while reinstating dining and other activities.
Prerequisites include creating implementation plans for visitation and isolating residents who test positive, administering tests within 24 hours of a resident showing symptoms, having written screening protocols for staff, having adequate staffing and personal protective equipment and being located in a county in the yellow or green phase.
When those prerequisites are met, facilities can then move into the three step plan that consists of:
- Step one — A facility must maintain no new cases in staff and residents and have no spread of covid-19 for 14 consecutive days from when the facility moves into the first step.
- Step two — Facilities must maintain no new coronavirus cases in staff and residents and have no spread for 14 consecutive days.
- Step three — Long-term care facilities can operate under Gov. Tom Wolf’s covid-19 disaster declaration.
Each step includes criteria for dining, activities, non-essential personnel, volunteers, visitors and outings. If a new covid-19 case is found, facilities will revert back in the plan and must have no new cases for 14 days before restarting at step one.
“We continue to practice a careful, measured approach in long-term care facilities so all staff and residents can safely welcome visitors and return to a more normal routine … (and) to allow safe visitations with strong public health measures to balance the mental and physical well-being of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents,” Levine said in a news release.
Visitation will only be permitted in the second and third steps as long as facility officials deem a resident can safely see visitors. Visiting hours, locations and screenings must be implemented in order to allow a visitor into the facility. Social distancing and infection control protocols must be followed.
“Resuming operations for long-term care facilities should be done gradually and deliberately, and most importantly, this must be done safely,” Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said in the release. “Guidance issued today will help this process begin, and we will continue to support our long-term care facilities through every step.”
As of Friday, long-term care facilities across the state have seen 17,527 covid-19 cases among residents, 3,162 among employees and 4,518 coronavirus-related deaths, according to data from the state health department.
“We will continue to work with and support facilities to ensure they adhere to these measures,” Levine said.