Updated Residential Care Facility Mitigation Guidance

 

To: Residential Care Facilities (Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, Group Homes, and Intermediate Care Facilities)   From: CDPHE The Residential Care Facility (RCF) Mitigation Guidance that provides guidance to RCF’s responding to cases of COVID-19 (staff or residents) and recommendations to prevent transmission within facilities has been updated and restored. The document is not intended to replace existing guidance but serves as a single document to assist RCF’s in mitigation, incorporating all existing guidance into one. Public Health Order 20-20 requires all Colorado licensed or certified skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, and assisted living residences to take a number of steps to help prevent and control outbreaks. Residents of RCFs, which are often older people and/or those with underlying health conditions, are at especially high risk for developing serious illness associated with COVID-19. Respiratory illnesses have the potential to spread easily in these settings due to the communal nature of the environment. Rapid response is key to limiting transmission in facilities to ensure infection control measures remain in place consistently with immediate action being taken even if a single case is suspected. For more information, visit the Long-Term and Residential Care Facilities page.