LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have provided new guidance to encourage visitation with loved ones living in nursing homes, while still requiring facilities and visitors to follow safety precautions.
Under the updated guidance, additional visitation options will be available depending on a facility’s layout and the resident’s health care needs.
CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to emphasize the importance of maintaining infection prevention practices, given the continued risk of COVID-19 transmission.
RELATED: Nevada Health Response updates visitation in hospitals and nursing facilities
The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH) has created a document to guide facilities in developing a plan for safe visitation with residents. Nevadans who wish to visit family or friends living in a care facility should contact the facility for information on their safety precautions and procedures and to discuss scheduling the visit.
“Nursing home residents derive value from the physical, emotional, and spiritual support they receive through visitation from family and friends,” said Deputy Administrator Margot Chappel of the Division of Public and Behavioral Health. “As residents and staff in our long-term care facilities are able to be vaccinated we hope this will mean more opportunities for residents to see their loved ones. We know the pandemic has been hard on everyone and the vaccine offers some hope for the future.”
Nursing homes will be updating and implementing their visitation policies/plans based on the CMS Nursing Home Visitation – COVID-19 memoranda, revised March 10, 2021. Other congregate living facility types may also use this guidance to help establish visitation policies/plans or update their current plans.
For more information, guidance and resources about the COVID-19 response in Nevada, visit NVHealthResponse.nv.gov.
