Guidelines tighten for nursing homes, long-term care

Stricter guidelines to prevent COVID-19 infections in nursing and other long-term care facilities were issued April 15 with Gov. John Carney’s 11th modification of his state of emergency declaration. 

The updated emergency order requires nursing facilities to immediately ensure they are in full compliance with the Public Health Authority guidance related to COVID-19, including checking at least once a day for Division of Public Health guidance  to ensure they are complying with the most current guidance and adjust their policies, procedures, and protocols accordingly.

“Our elderly populations, and especially Delawareans in long-term care facilities, are at very high risk for COVID-19 infection and hospitalization. These stricter measures that we’re issuing today are intended to save lives,” Carney said. “All Delawareans should do their part to protect their neighbors, friends, and family members – especially those who are immunocompromised. We know the weather is getting nicer, but continue to stay at home. Don’t go out in public unnecessarily. You’ll only increase the risk for everyone. We’ll get through this, but we need to keep working together.”

In an April 15 update on COVID-19 cases in long-term care and nursing facilities, state officials reported 19 care facilities with a total of 97 positive COVID-19 cases involving residents/patients or staff. Twenty-eight deaths have been related to long-term care facilities – more than half of the total deaths in the state. The 14 facilities with multiple positives include Atlantic Shores Rehab and Health Center, Millsboro, and Genesis HealthCare Milford Center, Milford. Brandywine Living at Seaside Pointe had reported a fatality at its center. 

The facilities with more than one death are Little Sisters of the Poor with 11, HarborChase with two, and New Castle Health and Rehabilitation with three. 

Carney’s order requires all nursing facilities in Delaware to immediately:

• Establish a cohort of staff who are assigned to care for known or suspected COVID-19 residents.
• Designate a room, unit, or floor of the nursing facility as a separate observation area where newly admitted and readmitted residents are kept for 14 days, while being observed every shift for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. 
• Designate a room, unit, or floor of the nursing facility to care for residents with known or suspected COVID-19.

Returning residents to their nursing facility remains a priority for residents who have been admitted or seen at a hospital for COVID-19, as long as the facility follows approved measures from DPH and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If nursing facility residents must temporarily go to other facilities, every effort must be made to transfer the residents back to their original facility as soon as possible. A negative COVID-19 test shall not be required prior to return to a nursing facility.

Additionally, Governor Bacon Health Center will serve as a nonacute-alternate care site for patients who are discharged from the hospital, have some activities of daily living needs, and are unable to return to their homes in the community or in a long-term care facility due to caregiver or staffing challenges. GBHC is one of the tools the state will use to ensure that critical care beds are available to people who need hospitalization and intensive treatment for COVID-19 infections.

Carney’s state of emergency declaration and its 11 modifications – including the stay-at-home order for Delawareans and mandatory 14-day quarantine for out-of-state travelers – remain in effect and carry the full force and effect of law. 

Violations of an emergency declaration are a criminal offense.