State request approved by federal partners will allow additional visits to the nursing home
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 10, 2021
COLUMBIA, SC – South Carolina has received federal approval to update visitation guidelines for nursing homes and community residential care facilities, announced the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) and Governor Henry McMaster. These updated guidelines require facilities to use the positive percentage of DHEC per county data to help determine their visitation status. This update will result in more facilities that previously restricted visitation based solely on a county’s positive percentage rate of more than 10%, allowing for in-person visitation.
As of today, any installation that meets the following standards he must allow internal personal visit:
• a positivity rate less than or equal to 10 percent in the county where the facility is located, using DHEC data, and
• no COVID-19 cases between employees and / or residents in the last 14 days, and
• maintained the basic principles of the CMS for preventing COVID-19 infection
Before the change in the guidelines, 177 establishments did not allow visitation. Of these, 43 units specifically cited the positive percentage of the county as a reason and are in one of the 40 counties that now have a positive percentage of 10 percent or less that they should be able to open for visitation if they otherwise met the above criteria.
“Many Southern Carolinians have been banned from visiting their loved ones in long-term care facilities because of costly federal guidelines,” said Governor Henry McMaster. “Prioritizing the physical health and safety of our most vulnerable citizens is extremely important, but we must also protect their mental and emotional health. These updated guidelines represent important progress and will result in the opening of many facilities for visitation, but there is more work to be done and we will continue to pressure federal agencies to allow expanded visitation. “
Vaccinations of residents and long-term care staff
Since today, 100 percent (193 of 193) of the state’s nursing homes had their first COVID-19 vaccination clinic completed and 86 percent (166 of 193) had their second clinic completed, with additional clinics scheduled. A total of 98 percent (485 of 495) of the state’s community residential care facilities had their first vaccination clinic completed and 86 percent (424 of 495) had their second clinic completed, with additional clinics scheduled.
In total, more than 61,500 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to approximately 40,000 residents of long-term care facilities in our state, and more than 36,700 doses have been administered to approximately 40,000 workers who care for them.
“When COVID-19 first spread across the country, long-term care facilities were devastated, as the virus affected nursing home residents who were among the most vulnerable to the virus.” said Dr. Edward Simmer, Director of DHEC. “In South Carolina, efforts were underway to prepare long-term care facilities for the arrival of the virus, and DHEC worked with facilities to help implement disease prevention protocols. Still, we have lost many loved ones to this deadly virus. That is why we prioritize nursing home residents among the first to be vaccinated, and after a major effort across the state, almost all residents of long-term care facilities in the state have now had the opportunity to obtain their life-saving vaccines. ”.
“Allowing visitation to the greatest extent possible and consistent with the safety of residents, employees and visitors is extremely important for the mental and physical health of residents and also for their families”. said Simmer. “The updated guidelines will help to ensure that as many residents as possible have safe and personal contact with family and friends.”
Percentage of DHEC positive by county data
To date, visitation guidelines for external and internal visits to nursing homes and community residential care facilities (commonly referred to as assisted living facilities) have been based on positive percentage data from the Medicare and Medicaid Service Centers (CMS). However, the data that the CMS / USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) receives is based on several different data sources used to calculate the percentage of positives. Today’s updated guidelines direct South Carolina’s long-term care institutions to use the positive percentage of DHEC by county data.
DHEC uses the test-by-test method to calculate the positive percentage, which is the same method used by the CDC. Therefore, the positive percentage data generated by the state is appropriate for use to determine visitation.
The county’s positivity rate is based on an average of the past 14 days and the report is updated on the DHEC website weekly, on Thursdays at 1 pm. Additional details on updated guidelines that require facilities to use positive percent DHEC data by county include:
• The county’s positivity rate must be greater than 10 percent for facilities to use this reason to disallow internal visitation.
• These guidelines replace the previous use of CMS data to determine visitation status for internal visitation purposes.
• From the most recent data, 40 out of 46 counties have positivity rates less than or equal to 10 percent. This means that the current county positivity rate is unlikely to affect visitation, except for the six counties (Allendale, Barnwell, Chesterfield, Lancaster, McCormick and York) with rates in excess of 10 percent.
• Trends in county percent positivity rates may increase or decrease from one report to the next. This means that the visitation status of a facility can change from one week to the next, based on the data.
• DHEC will continue to provide weekly updates on the current visitation status for all nursing homes and residential care units assembled in the state, online here.
Facilities with limited visitation because the positive percentage rate in your county exceeds 10% should still encourage safe indoor visitation during compassionate care situations. Compassionate care situations are not limited to end-of-life situations; other examples include when a resident’s physical or mental health is deteriorating, if a resident is suffering from the death of a loved one, if a resident needs an incentive to eat or drink, or when a new resident is struggling with the transition. These examples are not a complete list and the facility should allow compassionate care visits on a case-by-case basis.
The facility must also continue to allow external visits, virtual visits and window visits in accordance with DHEC guidelines. The public is strongly encouraged to contact the nursing home or assisted living facility to confirm their visitation status and policies and procedures before planning a visit to a loved one.
For the latest information on nursing homes and extended care facilities affected by COVID-19, including cases and deaths, visitation status and county positivity rates, click here. For the latest information on COVID-19 in South Carolina, click here.
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