Reopening Visitation Information
September 30, 2020
Reopening Visitation Information
Hello VPAC Resident, Family, and/or Guests,
We at VICTORIA POST-ACUTE CARE CENTER have worked diligently through the COVID experience to keep all residents and staff here safe and healthy. We understand that, as family members to our residents, it has been difficult to have been away from your loved ones for so long. With the recent Guidance we received from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as interpreted by our State Department of Health, we are working toward re-establishing visitation. In order to facilitate this process, we would ask that you please review the below information which sets forth specific requirements regarding visitation. If you meet the criteria and would like to schedule a visit, please do so between the hours of 11a-4p, by calling our facility Visitation Coordinator, at 619.633.9914 or 619.440.5005. You will be asked to provide an email address when you schedule so additional visit information can be sent to you in advance.
During visitation and at all other times, we continue to follow the core principles of infection prevention and control, all of which are designed to prevent and limit the spread of COVID-19. These core principles include but are not limited to:
- Screening & denial of entry for those with signs and symptoms or known exposure
- Hand hygiene
- Face covering or mask (covering nose and mouth)
- Social distancing
- Instructional signage (Visitor Education)
- Cleaning/disinfecting high-touch surfaces
- PPE
- Effective cohorting of Residents
- Required testing of residents and staff
For all visits, including compassionate care visits, the following rules apply:
- On the day of the visit, you will screened before entry to the building for fever (T≥100.0oF), symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or known exposure to someone with COVID-19, and will be restricted from visiting if you present with any of the above.
- Visitors will be expected to comply with the core principles listed above. If there is a problem in following these basic rules of infection control (hand hygiene, face covering or mask, social distancing at least 6 feet, etc.), then we may need to ask you to end your visit and leave the Facility. This is not intended to be disrespectful; rather, our goal is to keep those who live, work and visit here as free from the virus as possible.
- All visits must be scheduled in advance. A maximum of 2 people will be allowed to visit at any one time, for 20 minutes total outside or 10 minutes total if visiting inside the facility.
- Visits will be held on the seven days/week and MUST be scheduled in advance with the facility Visitation Coordinator
- Visitor movement should be limited in the facility. This means that, when you are visiting, you should go directly to the resident’s room or designated visiting area, and exit the facility directly and promptly when the visit is over.
For visits beyond compassionate care, the following apply:
- Visits for residents who share a room will not be conducted in the resident’s room, unless the health status of the resident prevents him/her from leaving the room.
- If a resident is on isolation, or displaying signs or symptoms of COVID, they will not receive visitors indoor or outdoors. They can participate in virtual or window visitation.
- There will be no indoor or outdoor visits if the facility has had a new case of COVID in the previous 14 days or if we are in outbreak testing.
- There will be no indoor visits if the county positivity rates published by CMS are in the “high/red” classification. However, outdoor visits may still be allowed in this circumstance.
- Outdoor visits are generally preferred due to lower risk of transmission, and visits will be held outdoors whenever practicable. Please note, however, that outdoor visits may be restricted due to inclement weather; an individual resident’s health status; or an outbreak testing situation.
- A person-centered, individualized approach will be utilized in determining how best to coordinate the visits for your loved one while still maintaining core infection prevention and control principles.
- Although not mandated, we encourage each visitor to present to the facility a recent negative COVID test (either PCR or antigen) at the time of the visit. Providing these test results are especially encouraged for those who visit regularly and/or are in counties with medium to high county positivity rates (as described above).
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate through this unprecedented time. We are so grateful for your support, and your willingness to work with as we uphold our infection prevention standards. Of course, we welcome any questions you might have regarding visitation or any other matter.
Sincerely,
VPAC TEAM
