RI Announces Nursing Homes Will Be Open to Visitors Beginning Wednesday

RI Announces Nursing Homes Will Be Open to Visitors Beginning Wednesday

Governor Gina Raimondo’s administration announced the reopening of long-term care and assisted living facilities starting on Wednesday, July 8th, provided that visitors abide by strict infection control measures to keep residents, staff, and family members safe, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH).

Visitors have been prohibited from nursing homes for more than three months.

More than 70 percent of Rhode Island coronavirus deaths are linked to nursing home and assisted living residents.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Last month, RIDOH provided guidance to facilities on how to develop safe visitation plans. Roughly two weeks ago, as facilities continued to work on their plans, RIDOH allowed facilities to start communal dining and communal activities again. Facilities that do not have visitation plans completed and approved by July 8th will be required to implement a standard Visitation Plan for Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Residences developed by RIDOH. Among other things, the standard plan states that:

• Visits will be limited to only those essential to the resident’s physical and emotional well-being and care.
• All visits must be scheduled in advance. Visits will be allowed for 30-minute increments.
• Facilities must actively screen everyone for fever and symptoms of COVID-19 before they enter.
• Facilities must keep a daily log with names and contact information for all visitors.
• Outdoor visits are preferred. If a visit must occur inside the facility, the visit shall be restricted to the resident’s room or other area specifically designated for visits. If a resident’s room is used for visitation, only one visitor per resident at a time is allowed in the resident’s room.  
• Regardless of the location of the visit, visitors must maintain a six-foot distance from staff and residents.
• All visitors must wear a cloth face covering.
• All visitors shall perform hand hygiene upon entry to the facility or to the outside visitation area or before entering the resident’s room.

While RIDOH has provided general guidance to facilities, and has developed a standard visitation plan for facilities without their own plans, all facilities are different. Some facilities may take different approaches, based on the uniqueness of their layout or resident community, according to the Department.