COVID-19 Visitation Policy and Procedure
It is the facility’s policy to ensure that visitation during this COVID-19 Pandemic promotes resident’s physical, mental, psychosocial well-being and quality of life. Resident visits will be conducted with adequate degree of privacy and will be scheduled at times that is coordinated and keeps visitor’s convenience.
Visitation Guidelines:
The facility will conduct visitation through various means such as in resident’s room, dedicated visitation spaces, and outdoors. Visitation must be patient-centered that promotes resident’s physical, mental, psychosocial well-being, and support their quality of life. Visitation will be conducted with an adequate degree of privacy and should be scheduled and coordinated base on staff’s availability. To reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection, the facility will continue to adhere to the Core Principles of Covid-19 infection prevention. Any visitors entering the facility, regardless of their vaccination status, must adhere to the following.
Screening of all who enters the facility for sign and symptoms of Covid-19 such as temperature checks, questions and observations of signs or symptoms, and denial of entry of those with signs or symptoms or those who have been in close contact with someone with Covid-19 infection in the prior 14 days (regardless of the visitor’s vaccination status).
Hand hygiene (use of alcohol-based hand rub is preferred)
Face covering such as Goggles/face shields, and mask (covering mouth and nose)
Maintain physical distancing of 6 feet between persons.
Instructional signage throughout the facility and proper visitor education on Covid-19 sign and symptoms, and infection control precautions.
Cleaning and disinfecting often of high frequency touched surfaces in the facility, and designated visitation areas after each visit.
A total of 2 residents may receive visits per time slot.
Current Time Slots are: 10:30am, 11:00am, 2:00pm, 2:30pm (may change at anytime)
Ask us if we are able to accommodate a different time slot. We will make efforts to accommodate you given staffing availability.
Visitors who are not able to adhere to the core principles of Covid-19 infection prevention will not be permitted to visit or will be asked to leave.
Outdoor Visitation:
Outdoor visitation is preferred because it poses a lower risk of transmission due to increased space and airflow, even when the resident and visitor are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Therefore, outdoor visits will be offered unless the resident cannot leave the facility. However, individual resident’s health status (medical conditions), weather considerations (ex. Hot or cold temperatures, poor air quality), Covid-19 status may hinder outdoor visits. Nonetheless, when conducting outdoor visitation, all appropriate infection control and prevention should be adhered to.
Facility will create accessible and safe outdoor spaces for visitation.
Facility may use physical barriers such as plexiglass or plastic dividers to reduce the risks of possible transmission.
Resident and visitor should wear appropriate facial covering during the visit.
Maintain 6 feet of physical distancing.
Fully vaccinated visitors who is > 2 weeks following receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series (e.g., Moderna or Pfizer Vaccine), or >2 weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine (e.g., Janssen Covid-19 Vaccine) of a fully vaccinated resident, may have brief limited physical contact with the resident. For example, a brief hug, or holding hands.
Facility will conduct POC antigen test to visitor and should test negative prior to entry or visit to the resident.
Indoor Visitation:
The facility will allow indoor visitation for all residents (regardless of vaccination status), except for a few circumstances when visitation should be limited due to a high risk of Covid-19 transmission (compassionate care visit should be permitted at all times). The facility will limit indoor visitation for:
Unvaccinated residents, if the facility’s Covid-19 county positivity rate is >10% and <70% of residents in the facility are fully vaccinated.
Residents with confirmed Covid-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated until criteria to discontinue Transmission-Based Precaution is met.
Resident in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until resident met criteria for release from quarantine.
Fully Vaccinated Resident:
Fully vaccinated residents (e.g., individual residents who are >2 weeks following receipt of the second dose in a 2-dose series (ex. Moderna or Pfizer vaccine), or >2 weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine such as Janssen Covid-19 vaccine) in “green” (unexposed or recovered) or “yellow” (exposed or observation status) areas, regardless pf the county tier (including Tier 1, Purple) under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy.
Visitors in Tier 1 (Purple) counties for fully vaccinated residents must test negative
on a POC antigen or PCR test on a sample taken within two days prior to the visit, regardless of the visitor’s vaccination status.
Facility may offer POC antigen testing the day of the visit as part of the screening process or two days prior to visit. Visitor must test negative before entry to the facility is permitted.
Fully vaccinated visitor of a fully vaccinated resident may have brief, limited physical contact such as a brief hug, holding hands, assisting with feeding or grooming.
All visitors and residents should wear appropriate facial covering during their visit and should maintain 6 feet of physical distancing.
Facility will limit visitor’s movement when in the facility. Visitor is not permitted to walk around different halls of the facility. Rather, they should go directly to the resident’s room or designated visitation area.
Full PPE must be worn for yellow zone. Visitor must comply with proper donning and duffing of PPE.
Facility will allow 1-2 visitors per resident at one time, the total number of visitors in the facility at one time will be based on facility’s census. Furthermore, the facility will schedule visits for a specified length of time to ensure that each resident will be able to receive visitors.
Visits will be scheduled for no less than 30 minutes. In addition, visitors will need to comply to the core principles and staff will provide monitoring during visit.
Visits for residents who share a room should be conducted in a separate indoor space or with the roommate not present in the room (if possible), regardless of the roommate’s vaccination status. However, if the health status of the resident prevents leaving the room, the facility will allow in-room visitation while adhering to the core principles of Covid-19 infection prevention.
Unvaccinated Resident:
Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated resident in “green” (unexposed or recovered) or “yellow” (exposed or observation status) areas for facilities in Tier 2 (Red), Tier 3 (Orange), or Tier 4 (Yellow) counties.
Visitors in Tier 2 (Red), Tier 3 (Orange), or Tier 4 (Yellow) counties for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated residents must test negative on a POC antigen on a POC antigen or PCR test on a sample taken within two days prior to the visit, regardless of the visitor’s vaccination status.
Facility may offer POC antigen testing the day of the visit as part of the screening process or two days prior to visit. Visitor must test negative before entry to the facility is permitted.
All visitors and residents should wear appropriate facial covering during their visit and should maintain 6 feet of physical distancing.
Full PPE must be worn for yellow zone visitation.
Facility will limit visitor’s movement when in the facility. Visitor is not permitted to walk around different halls of the facility. Rather, they should go directly to the resident’s room or designated visitation area.
Facility will allow 1-2 visitors per resident at one time, the total number of visitors in the facility at one time will be based on facility’s census. Furthermore, the facility will schedule visits for a specified length of time to ensure that each resident will be able to receive visitors.
Visits will be scheduled for no less than 30 minutes. In addition, visitors will need to comply to the core principles and staff will provide monitoring during visit.
Facility will have adequate staffing
Visits for residents who share a room should be conducted in a separate indoor space or with the roommate not present in the room (if possible), regardless of the roommate’s vaccination status. However, if the health status of the resident prevents leaving the room, the facility will allow in-room visitation while adhering to the core principles of Covid-19 infection prevention.
Facility will maintain regulatory compliance with CDPH guidance for safety and have approved Covid-19 mitigation plan.
Entry of Healthcare workers and Other Providers of Services:
HCP who are not employed by the facility but provide direct care to the facility’s residents, such as Hospice workers, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel, dialysis technicians, laboratory technicians, radiology technicians, social workers, and clergy. Including non-essential workers/contractors (e.g., barbers, manicurist/pedicurist) who comply with the same screening testing and universal facemask use required of the facility HCP may enter the facility and provide services to residents in appropriate spaces (outdoors, if feasible, or indoors in a well-ventilated area where at least 6-ft physical distancing can be maintained between residents). Non-essential personnel/contractors who enter the facility should be encouraged to seek COVID-19 vaccination through the resources available in their community including the local health department.
Healthcare workers and non-essential personnel/contractors will adhere to the core principles of Covid-19 infection prevention and must comply with Covid-19 testing requirements.
Continuing Outdoor and Large Indoor Communal Space Visitation Requirements
Facility will continue to allow outdoor and communal space visitation options for all residents, regardless of vaccination status or the county tier.
Visitation in Large Communal Indoor Spaces that Allow for Physical Distancing
If outdoor visitation is not possible due to inclement weather, poor air quality, and resident inability to be moved outside. Facility shall accommodate visitation in large communal indoor spaces such as a lobby, dining room, activity room, and physical therapy rooms, where 6 feet physical distancing is possible. Facility will rearrange spaces and add barriers to separate the space to accommodate the need for visitation of multiple residents.
Other Visitation Options in Addition to Outdoor and Communal Spaces
In addition, to maximize visitation opportunities and keep residents and families connected, the facility will continue to do the following:
Offer alternative means of communication for people who would otherwise visit, including virtual communication such as phone, or video-communication.
Assign staff as primary contact to families for inbound calls and conduct regular outbound calls to keep families up to date.
Offer a phone line with a voice recording updated at set times with the facility’s general operating status, such as when it is safe to resume visits.
Create/increase listserv communication to update families, such as status and impact of Covid-19 in the facility.
Required Visitation
The facility will comply with state and federal resident’s rights requirements pertaining to visitation. The facility will follow CDPH and local public health department guidance when implementing visitation policies.
Exception to Visitation Restrictions
Regardless of the county Tier and vaccination status, the following are exempt from a facility’s visitation restrictions and may have access to a resident in any zone.
Healthcare workers, including those from the local county public health offices,
employees, consultants, contractors, volunteers, and caregivers who provide care and services residents on behalf of the facility, and students in the facility’s nurse aide training programs or from affiliated academic institutions will be permitted to come into the facility if they meet CDC guidelines for healthcare workers.
Surveyors
Ombudsman
Nursing students obtaining their clinical experience as part of an approved nurse assistant, vocational nurse or registered nurse training program will be permitted into the facility if they meet the CDC guidelines for healthcare workers. Student entering the facility routinely must participate in the facility’s wide screening testing.
Compassionate care visitation, for permitted visitors, will be conducted using physical distancing. However, if the facility and visitor identify a way to allow for personal contact during compassionate care visitation, visitors should be screened for Covid-19 symptoms, be routinely tested for Covid-19 at least weekly, wear a surgical facemask while on the building, restrict visit to the resident’s room or other designated visiting location designated by the facility, and be reminded by the facility to performs hand hygiene frequently.
Visitors must be permitted for legal matters that cannot be postponed including, but not limited to, voting, estate planning, advance health care directives, Power of Attorney, and transfer of property title if these tasks cannot be accomplished virtually.
P&A programs: any representative of a P&A program must be permitted immediate access to a resident, which includes the opportunity to regularly meet and communicate privately with the resident, both formally and informally, by telephone, mail, and in person.
The facility will comply with Individuals authorized by federal disability right laws such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
For example, if a resident requires assistance to ensure effective communication, such as needing a qualified interpreter or someone to facilitate communication, and the assistance is not available by onsite staff or effective communication cannot be provided without such entry (e.g., video remote interpreting), the facility must allow the individual entry into the facility to interpret or facilitate, with some exceptions.
This would not preclude facilities from imposing legitimate safety measures necessary for safe operations, such as requiring individuals to adhere to the core principles of Covid-19 infection prevention.
In circumstances where the guidance does not clearly apply, the facility leadership should work with the local health department to develop an individualized plan of action.
All persons exempt from visitor restrictions are subject to screening for fever and Covid-19 symptoms. Exempt persons must wear appropriate facial covering, perform hand hygiene when in facility and comply with core principles of infection control and prevention. Including POC testing upon entry to the building.