HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Department of Human Services (DHS) on Tuesday issued updated COVID-19 guidance for personal care homes, assisted living residences, and private intermediate care facilities covering screening and surveillance testing for residents and staff, expanding visitation, and circumstances when and how facilities can safely relax mitigation tactics.
The guidance reflects Pennsylvania and facilities’ evolving knowledge of and experience facing COVID-19 and current best practices to protect residents and staff of long-term care facilities.
“Changes to policies and procedures at long-term care facilities are necessary to keep residents and staff safe from COVID-19, but as situations evolve in communities around the commonwealth, we must have a plan to safely allow facilities to ease certain restrictions and operate under a new normal that continues to prioritize COVID-19 safety,” said DHS Secretary Teresa Miller. “We will continue to provide guidance and updated best practices for long-term care facilities so we may all work together to keep staff of these facilities and residents as safe as possible.”
The guidance primarily adds and updates guidance for screening testing of residents and staff, compassionate care visitation policies, easing certain mitigation efforts, and lifting restrictions within these facilities.
- Screening Testing: Frequency of screening residents and staff of COVID-19 should be determined based on the level of COVID-19 activity in the community where the long-term care facility (LTCF) is located. If an outbreak is identified at the facility, universal testing should begin, prioritizing units, wings, or floors where cases are identified but ideally of all residents and staff. Recommended testing intervals for residents and staff of LTCFs not experiencing an outbreak can be found by clicking the table below: