Visitation Considerations for Long-Term Care Settings Amid Rising Case Counts

Posted on August 18, 2021 by Kari Everson

Cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in Minnesota and, as a result, long-term care settings should review guidance, policies, and practices to ensure infection prevention and control protocols are up to date. Organizations are also experiencing an increase in outbreak cases. Many reached out to LeadingAge Minnesota regarding visitation practices.

Visitation

On April 20, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) published updated guidance for indoor visitation in long-term care settings. In addition to reviewing core principles of infection prevention and control, the document reviews key components of visitation that are consistent with QSO-29-39-NH-R:

• Compassionate care visits, essential caregivers, and visits required under state and federal disability rights laws, should be allowed at all times, regardless of a resident’s vaccination status, the county’s COVID-19 positivity rate, or an outbreak.
• Screening questions for visitors must now include whether the visitor has had close contact in the prior 14 days with someone who is infected with COVID-19 (regardless of whether the visitor is vaccinated). If the visitor answers yes, the visitor should not be allowed to enter.
• Outdoor visitation is preferred.

Indoor visitation should be allowed but there are some circumstances in which indoor visitation should be limited:

• Unvaccinated residents should not receive visitation if the county positivity rate is >10% and <70% of residents are fully vaccinated.  The positivity rate can be found HERE.
• Residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection
• Residents in quarantine or isolation

Organizations can make some changes with visitation policies based upon the current state of COVID-19. It is acceptable for organizations to schedule visits for a specified length of time to ensure all residents are able to receive visitors but to also ensure the building is able to accommodate a certain number of individual visitors while maintaining core principles of infection prevention. Visitor access to the building should continue to be limited, meaning visitors should go directly to the designated visiting area whether that be a visitation area designated within the building or the resident’s room or apartment. 

Visitation During an Outbreak

When there is a new facility onset case in the long-term care setting, visitation should be suspended until the organization is able to complete one round of whole house testing, except for essential caregiver and compassionate care visits. After the test results are received, visitation decisions are based upon the results of the tests. Visitation may resume if the testing indicates there is evidence the spread of COVID-19 is contained to a single area or unit. Visitation should be suspended on any affected unit(s) until outbreak testing is completed.

If you have questions or would like to discuss other COVID-19 related questions, please contact Kari Everson.