News

LTC Facilities May Reopen Visitation With Approved Plans

The Delaware Division of Public Health and the Division of Health Care Quality announced that its COVID-19 Reopening Plan for Long Term Care Facilities will allow visitations to resume based on each provider’s status, as determined by three stages. Providers must submit written plans, and receive approval of the plans, from DHCQ for visitations to commence. 

The plan consists of three stages:

• Stage 1 – Highest level of vigilance for mitigating spread of COVID-19; new facility onset within the last 14 days)
• Stage 2 – No new facility onset within the last 14 days and adequate staffing to meet residents’ needs
• Stage 3 – No new facility onset for 28 days and adequate staffing to meet residents’ needs

Each stage includes guidelines for visitation, non-essential personnel, communal dining, trips outside the building, group activities, screening, cohorting, staff PPE, and mandatory testing. To move from stage to stage, providers will need to submit a plan to DHCQ for approval. 

The plan also allows for providers to designate a support person for each resident, either a family member or another person, who regularly engaged with the resident prior to the pandemic, to restore in-person contact for the resident’s personal well-being. The support person will be subjected to the same testing regimen as long-term care providers. 

For the complete plan: Reopening Plan for LTC