Post-Vaccination Infection Control, Testing and Visitation Updates

 

To: Residential care facilities (Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, Group Homes, and Intermediate Care Facilities)   From: HFEMS Residential Care Strike Team   As facilities become fully vaccinated we understand there are an increasing amount of questions on current infection control, testing, and visitation guidelines and how our experts are evaluating the situation.    To help clear up confusion, we have put together a COVID-19 vaccination, infection control and testing in residential care facilities guidance that includes post-vaccination information and frequently asked questions/resources.   Healthcare providers were placed first in line to receive the COVID-19 vaccine because of their essential role in fighting this deadly pandemic and their increased risk of getting COVID-19 and spreading it to their patients.   If we can continue to maintain low positivity rates, and successfully vaccinate all residents, staff, as well as the general population, it will have an impact on the evolution of future guidance. We commend you for your infection control efforts and want to stress that we are increasingly closer to our new normal.    As a reminder, residential care providers are required to follow CDPHE’s Mandatory Visitation Requirements for Residential Facilities and review the county positivity rate every Friday for the preceding two weeks to determine whether indoor visitation will occur the following week, and update their visitation procedures accordingly.  If you are unsure if your facility should be allowing visitation procedures or is located in a county that has a less than 10 percent positivity rate, utilize our Facility Visitation Decision Tree.   Please stay tuned to the facility portal and our other methods of communication as these developments are constantly under review and can change rapidly. Questions can be directed to residentialcarestriketeam@state.co.us.