Part 13 New visitation orders
WHEN WE LAST LEFT Mrs. Jones, she was awaiting new guidance for visitation in assisted-living facilities. Luckily—guidance from the State of Ohio came through that allowed for visitation with residents and their family members.
This has been great for Mrs. Jones, and because she has had her full vaccination, she has even been able to interact more closely with her family during their visits. The new guidance closely reflects the federal guidance we talked about in last month’s article but now encompasses both assisted-living and nursing facilities.
Mrs. Jones has loved seeing her friends and family and reconnecting socially since she has felt so isolated over the past year. However, she is starting to get frustrated because visitation stops and starts frequently due to “outbreak testing” and she doesn’t quite understand how or why this is occurring.
I am sure many other families and residents have the same question. Outlined below is more information on what happens to visitation when there is “outbreak testing.”
You may wonder, “But what is outbreak testing?” According to the guidance from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Ohio Department of Health, outbreak testing is explained as follows:
• “Outbreak” is defined as a new COVID-19 infection in any healthcare personnel or any nursing-home-onset COVID-19 infection in a resident.
• Required outbreak testing: Upon identification of a single new case of COVID-19 infection in any staff or residents, all staff and residents should be tested.
According to the current visitation orders in Ohio for assisted-living and nursing facilities, the following occurs with visitation when someone (staff member or resident) tests positive for COVID-19 and they go into outbreak testing:
• When a new case of COVID-19 among residents or staff is identified, a nursing home should immediately begin outbreak testing and suspend all visitation (except that required under federal disability rights law) until at least one round of facility-wide testing is completed.
Visitation can resume based on the following criteria:
• If the first round of outbreak testing reveals no additional COVID-19 cases in other areas (e.g., units) of the nursing home, then visitation can resume for residents in areas/units with no COVID-19 cases.
• If the first round of outbreak testing reveals one or more additional COVID-19 cases in other areas/units of the nursing home (e.g., new cases in two or more units), then nursing homes should suspend visitation for all residents (vaccinated and unvaccinated).
• If subsequent rounds of outbreak testing identify one or more additional COVID-19 cases in other areas/units of the nursing home, then nursing homes should suspend visitation for all residents (vaccinated and unvaccinated) until the nursing home meets the criteria to discontinue outbreak testing.
If you have questions about the new guidance on visitation, positive cases in a building where you or your loved one resides, or any other care concerns, please reach out to us at the Ombudsman program so we can assist. We can be reached at 419-259-2891, and if your call isn’t answered live, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible to see how we can assist.
Megan Benner Senecal is a member of the Ombudsman Office.
