The guidance takes effect immediately.
Vaccinated or not, nursing home residents are still a fragile patient population, so infection control is important, says CMS. For residents of nursing homes and visitors, even if vaccinated, the CMS still wants people to wear a tight-fitting face mask, wash their hands and try to stay physically distant, an agency spokesman said in an email. But the new CMS guidelines offer many other new freedoms.
“The CMS recognizes the psychological, emotional and physical price that prolonged isolation and separation from the family has exerted on nursing home residents and their families,” said Dr. Lee Fleisher on the agency’s website. Fleisher is the medical director of CMS and director of the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality at CMS. “This is an important step that we are taking, as we continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining infection prevention practices, given the continuing risk of transmission of COVID-19.”
Under the new guidance, visitors do not need the result of the Covid-19 test to see the family, nor do they need to show proof of vaccination. The guidelines strongly encourage everyone to be vaccinated.
Visits should be restricted if the Covid-19 County positivity rate is greater than 10% and less than 70% of residents at the facility have been fully vaccinated.
Families should also postpone visits to quarantined residents or if the Covid-19 test is positive.
“Compassionate care” visits, however, are permitted at all times. In this case, the resident’s vaccination status or the municipality’s positivity rate does not matter. A compassionate care visit is when a resident’s health has dramatically deteriorated.
The guidance also encourages visits outdoors, as it is still safer, especially for those who are not vaccinated. The guidelines also encourage people to keep physical distance when possible.
“There is no substitute for physical contact, like the warm hug between a resident and his loved one. Therefore, if the resident is fully vaccinated, he can choose to have close contact (including touch) with his visitor while using a health bag. adequate face mask, “says the CMS on its website.” Regardless, visitors must physically distance themselves from other residents and facility staff. “
If there is an outbreak of Covid-19 in the nursing home, managers should temporarily suspend visits, test everyone immediately and confine the case to a single area. Visits can be resumed for the rest of the building.
Internal visits are now permitted for all residents, at almost all times, regardless of the resident or visitor’s vaccination status.
If a resident is fully vaccinated, hugs also return.
Say goodbye to birthday celebrations with acrylic
“The goal has always been to ensure that residents have a good quality of life, in addition to being safe,” Trump administration CMS administrator Seema Verma told CNN.
Verma told CNN that as soon as vaccination efforts began in December, the department began to revise the guidelines for visitors.
“This is one of the questions that I raised with the transition team, to say that, as part of your plan, once you get these vaccines, we need to have quick guidance, because families will want to meet with their loved ones”, said Verma.
For almost a year, birthdays were celebrated through a window or protective acrylic.
Safe family visits bring comfort
The recommendations of the CMS and the CDC are guidelines only, they are not legally binding. Nursing homes are still free to create their own policies on masks and visitors, but these facilities tend to seek recommendations from public health agencies and are regulated by the CMS. And in this case, associations that work with the elderly are enthusiastic about the new CMS guidelines.
“The need to keep residents safe is balanced with the need for people to see their loved ones in the nursing home and this has been a really damaging aspect of the pandemic,” said Laxton.
Laxton said family visits bring more than just comfort.
“Families really do provide a kind of second-line health and care for these nursing homes. There are never enough staff, especially now in Covid,” said Laxton. “So having families come and help feed their residents, and engage them in activities, things that would normally require a staff member or a few (certified nursing assistants) to do, is a big help.”
Smith Sloan added, however, that the spread of the community is still a threat to vulnerable residents. People should do everything they can to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus.
“In short,” she wrote, “surveillance is still necessary.”