(Des Moines, IA) -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are updating rules for nursing home visitation amid the pandemic.
To date in Iowa, through the Long Term Care Pharmacy Partnership Program, a total of 139,142 vaccine doses have been given to patients and staff.
According to the updated guidance, facilities should allow responsible indoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of vaccination status of the resident, or visitor, unless certain scenarios arise that would limit visitation for:
- Unvaccinated residents, if the COVID-19 county positivity rate is greater than 10 percent and less than 70 percent of residents in the facility are fully vaccinated;
- Residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met the criteria to discontinue transmission-based precautions; or
- Residents in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met criteria for release from quarantine.
“Spending time with loved ones and seeing them in person is critical to overall well-being. This past year has been incredibly challenging and hard on older Iowans and their loved ones. This is great news and one more step closer to normal,” said Kelly Garcia, Director of the Department of Human Services and Department of Public Health interim director.
The updated guidance also emphasizes that “compassionate care” visits should be allowed at all times, regardless of a resident’s vaccination status, the county’s COVID-19 positivity rate, or an outbreak. Compassionate care visits include visits for a resident whose health has sharply declined or is experiencing a significant change in circumstances.
It's recommended that nursing homes continue to take other measures to control coronavirus infections, including maintaining physical distancing and conducting visits outdoors whenever possible.
Brent Willett of the Iowa Health Care Association, says it's hard to put into words the what the decision means for families, who have had little to no direct contact with each other for the past year. He says families should contact long term care facilities directly for specific details about visitation policies.