Benton & Franklin County Long-Term Care facilities are in Phase 1
Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities
Long-term care facilities serve vulnerable populations that are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Residents’ age and health status put them at greater risk for severe COVID-19 complications and potential death. COVID-19 can quickly spread in congregate care settings.
Benton-Franklin Health District has been working with these facilities throughout the county to ensure strong infection control guidance, availability of testing, and other measures to identify cases and minimize the spread of disease and protect these vulnerable populations.
Current Visitation Phases
Definitions
Compassionate Care Visits - End of life or psycho-social needs
Window Visits - Closed window visit to be scheduled with facility
Remote Visits - Zoom, Facetime, Skype, etc.
Outdoor Visits - Limit of 2 visitors per day, include masking, physical distancing and hand hygiene in designated outdoor accessible area
Limited Indoor Visits - visit in designated area, scheduled with facility
Normal Visitation - No restrictions
How do the phases work?
Long-term care facility phase status is based upon the general Safe Start plan, but takes additional factors into account. Those additional factors include current COVID county case rate (or disease burden), facility access to testing and personal protective equipment, and virus activity within the facility.
- Facilities will be held to Phase 1 if the local COVID case rate per 100,000 residents over 14 days exceeds 75. See current case rate here.
- To reach Phase 2, the local COVID case rate threshold is 25-75 per 100,000 residents over 14 days. 28 days must have passed since the last positive or suspected client was identified within the facility. Adequate staffing, PPE, cleaning supplies, local hospital capacity are also required.
- To reach Phase 3, the local COVID case rate threshold is 10-25 per 100,000 residents. 28 days must have passed since the last positive or suspected client was identified within the facility. Adequate staffing, PPE, cleaning supplies, local hospital capacity are also required.
- To reach Phase 4, the local COVID case rate must not exceed 10 per 100,000 residents. 28 days must have passed since the last positive or suspected client was identified within the facility. Adequate staffing, PPE, cleaning supplies, local hospital capacity are also required.
- Note: facilities may not move beyond their county's Safe Start Phase. Full guidance for each facility type is below in the Resources tab.
What is allowed in each Phase and the requirements to transition into next Phase for LTC facilities
The facility or agency cannot move into the next Safe Start for LTC phase until the county is approved to move into the next Safe Start Phase. The facility or agency must then meet the Safe Start for LTC phase criteria before moving forward.
For example, facilities located in counties in Safe Start Phase 1, cannot move beyond phase 1 of the Safe Start for LTC plan until the county enters Safe Start Phase 2 or greater and the facility meets the LTC phase criteria.
The LHJ or DOH have the authority to return a facility to more restrictive operations in response to any infectious disease and/or COVID-19 outbreak by imposing non-essential visitor restrictions and services defined by the Governor’s Safe Start Plan.