Agreement on Protocols for Safety during Visitation

Dear Parent/Guardian,

Siffrin-FOR Visitors-Guidance on Waiver Visitation in Supervised Living homes 6-10-20

Visitation for those we serve had been limited during the pandemic per the Ohio Department of Health Director’s #StayAtHome orders and per DODD guidance, that we should restrict visitors from outside coming into homes, and to keep everyone home as much as possible to limit exposure to Coronavirus during the pandemic.

The orders that called for this have now been rescinded and replaced with the following Guidance on Waiver Visitation found at this link:

https://dodd.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/dodd/about-us/communication/news/news-guidance-waiver-visitation

This guidance says the following:

On April 2, 2020, while the stay-at-home order was in effect, DODD issued guidance on best practices for family visitation. Ohio is responsibly restarting, and Ohioans are making choices to resume activities while continuing efforts to control the spread of COVID-19. DODD is rescinding that guidance and issuing the following guidance on visitation in residential waiver settings.

When people with developmental disabilities express an interest in resuming social visits in their homes, their support teams and roommates should have conversations about the appropriateness of visits at this time. Teams and roommates need to determine when and how to safely and responsibly plan for visits inside and outside of the home.

Teams should assist in making visits as safe as possible by working with the person and other members of the household to follow the public health guidelines, including, but not limited to educating all residents on the risks of the spread of COVID-19 and appropriate/applicable safety precautions to take when interacting with visitors, educating all families/friends of the dangers of the spread of COVID-19 and the potential health impact for not just their loved one, but all residents and staff at the home, educating all residents on the importance of face coverings and maintaining social distancing from people they do not currently live with when out of the home, encouraging DSPs and visitors coming into the person’s home to always wear a face covering,
continuing frequent cleaning and sanitation of high touch surfaces and shared bathrooms, at least continuing to encourage the utilization of technology to keep in touch with families and friends, and evaluating whether outdoor visitation would be more appropriate for members of the home.
---------END DODD GUIDANCE ON WAIVER VISITATION-------

Outdoor visitation- We are encouraging nice outdoor-living areas to be used and set up, porches, patios that you can enjoy, and be socially distanced while wearing a mask.

Our staff have been trained to make this as enjoyable a possible for you and your loved one. We have several people living in each home, so visits at the home should be planned in advance and coordinated so the visits can happen with appropriate space and not conflict as much as possible.

The Ohio Department of Health is advising facilities such as Nursing Homes and Assisted Living, to track all the visitors that come to visit, so we will resume Visitor Logs. The staff will be asked to help complete Visitor Log forms. They will ask you for your first and last name, phone number to reach you. This is all for tracking purposes if someone at the home develops COVID-19. The Department of Health would be contacting anyone who visited during the past two weeks prior to someone testing positive.

Visitors will be asked to read this memo PRIOR to the visit, along with CDC memo and one minute video “How to Protect Yourself from Coronavirus” info from the CDC:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html

This will be emailed to the visitor from the MSL until it can be made into an online form the visitor can complete.

Please help us by getting this complete as soon as possible.

Our staff will also be asking you if you took your temperature earlier today, and if it was under 100.4 F and if you feel you have any symptoms of concern that morning before coming.

If you DO have a temp over 100.4F or have any symptoms, please do not come to the home. We will assist you to reschedule for another day. If you have already arrived and have stated yes to the above we will ask you to leave, and will be letting the manager of that home know immediately.