An association representing more than 425 assisted living communities and nursing homes throughout New York is calling on the state to revise its “one-size-fits-all” pandemic policies on testing and visitation in those settings.
In their place, the New York State Health Facilities Association and the New York State Center for Assisted Living is asking Gov. Andrew Cuomo to implement the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ interim final rule with new COVID-19 testing requirements for long-term care, issued last week, in assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities in the state.
Currently, the state requires all assisted living community and nursing home staff members to be tested weekly. CMS’ interim final rule is intended for both staff members and residents and is based on the positivity rate of the virus in the county where a facility is located. Under the rule, CMS requires testing once a month for facilities in counties with a low (less than a 5%) infection rate, once a week in counties with a medium (5% to 10%) positivity rate, and twice a week in counties with a high (more than 10%) positivity rate.
“Nursing homes and assisted living providers throughout New York have made incredible strides in eradicating COVID-19 from their facilities, and the state’s policies must be revised to reflect success,” NYSHFA/NYSCAL President and CEO Stephen B. Hanse said. “The state’s current policy must be replaced with CMS’ rule in order to both focus testing where it is needed most and alleviate the state’s unfunded mandate that is imposing unsustainable financial constraints to providers.”
CMS’ testing frequency requirements, Hanse said, would help “alleviate the unsustainable costs associated with the state’s unfunded mandate that providers test every employee once a week regardless of the prevalence of COVID-19 in the community” or facility. Health insurers, he added, are refusing to pay for the state’s staff testing requirements, which cost providers approximately $100 per test.
Visitation changes urged, too
The association is also calling on the state to reduce its restriction that prohibits family visitation in assisted living communities and nursing homes until after 28 days of no new COVID-19 cases, suggesting 14 days instead. A recent membership poll showed that 77% of providers statewide were unable to open for in-person visits under the state’s 28-day restriction.
“It is critical that the state move from its out-of-date 28-day restriction to a 14-day policy for visitation throughout New York. It has been since early March of this year that a majority of our residents have been unable to receive visitors in person as a consequence of the COVID-19 endemic,” Hanse said. “Moving from a 28-day restriction to a 14-day policy is essential for the health and well-being of our residents and their families and loved ones.”
Hanse said the 14-day restriction aligns with the state Department of Health’s return-to-work requirements.
In other coronavirus-related news:
- North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum held a roundtable discussion with White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Deborah Birx, M.D., and state and local officials on COVID-19. Birx praised the state’s Department of Health dashboard, its testing capacity and its Vulnerable Population Protection Plan that prevented the spread of the virus in long-term care facilities, including assisted living.
- Kentucky lawmakers listened to concerns related to COVID-19 in the state’s long-term care facilities during testimony last week in the Interim Joint Committee on Health, Welfare and Family Services meeting. Betsy Johnson, president and executive director of the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities and Kentucky Center for Assisted Living, shared data showing that more than half of the state’s coronavirus-related deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities. She also made a plea for more personal protective equipment, testing and funding.
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Friday to maintain temporary visitation restrictions at assisted living and independent living facilities during the pandemic. The order continues the limited and temporary restrictions of entry of individuals into healthcare facilities, residential care facilities and congregate care facilities.
- The Minnesota Department of Health released new visitation guidance to support long-term care facilities, including assisted living communities, in their efforts to balance the need to protect residents and ensure healthy social and emotional connections with family and friends. The primary consideration for visitation is COVID-19 exposure within the past 28 days. Other considerations are case incidence in the surrounding community, facility size and to what extent staff are working at other facilities. Assisted living facilities residents are considered high risk, so facility[wide testing is recommended.
- Code for Baltimore, a volunteer corps of programmers, created a program to automatically email, and soon text, senior living communities to assess needs and provide information during emergencies. The system has emailed surveys asking about specific needs related to the coronavirus pandemic, with health department staff able to respond directly. The system helped alert health officials to loneliness and boredom created by quarantining older adults, prompting virtual connections and deliveries of packets containing crossword puzzles, reading materials and other activities.
- The Gallatin County Health Board in Montana agreed to allow limited visitation at assisted living communities, nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities if they adhere to requirements for surveillance testing, visitor screening and no COVID-19 cases in the last 28 days. Gov. Steve Bullock began allowing visits to long-term care facilities in June, but Gallatin County continued restrictions due to outbreaks.
- The wife of an Oklahoma continuing care retirement community’s CEO is offering her time to supervise the children of employees who need somewhere to go during the day while completing distance learning assignments. Spanish Cove Retirement Village is using space that eventually will house a new independent living apartment structure for children in grades 1-8. Cove Academy is available at no cost to employees, and residents have donated supplies to the cause.
