Visitation Policy and Procedures

Purpose:

It is our policy to ensure safe visitation to our residents consistent with the resident “Bill of Rights” F.S. 429.28. In addition to educate employees and visitors of residents on procedures related to infection control.

Policy:

The following are the procedures to be followed to identify essential caregivers for residents and the expectations. These procedures will be administered equally to all residents that request to have an essential caregiver, without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and transgender status), age, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Essential caregiver visitors provide emotional support to help a resident deal with a difficult transition or loss, upsetting event, major medical decisions, needs cueing to eat and drink, stops speaking, or end- of- life. Essential caregiver visitors must be allowed entry into the facility on a limited basis for these specific purposes.

  1. The administrator Andrea Caine is designated as the person responsible for ensuring that employees adhere to the visitation policies and procedures.
  2. Residents may also designate a visitor who is a family member, friend, guardian, or other individual as an essential caregiver. The essential caregiver is allowed to have in-person visitation for at least 2 hours daily in addition to any other visitation authorized by the Facility but does not have to provide necessary care.
  3. Upon entering the facility, the staff designee will screen the visitor per the facility’s infection control policy and procedure and document name of the individual, the date and time of entry and the screening mechanism used and the employee signature. The facility will respect the right of the resident to determine the number of visitors he/she would like to have at any given time during the 9am-9pm visiting hours.
  4. A staff member is designated to support infection control and prevention by providing information on the visitation policies and procedures and will ensure that the essential caregiver visitors have the appropriate PPE and provide directions on the proper use of PPE’s
  5. All visitors will be directed to the PPE set- up table.
    1. All essential caregivers and visitors will be required to wear a surgical mask and other appropriate PPE for the duration of their visit as permitted by the facility and CDC guidelines. If the specific resident to be visited is quarantined or tested positive for a communicable disease, visits will not be restricted in these circumstances, A higher level of PPE will be required consistent with current guidelines of the CDC. The PPPE required will not be more stringent than that required by facility staff, gowns, face shield, and N95 respirator may be required as per facility protocol to mitigate and prevent the spread of the virus.
    2. The facility will provide education on infection control, and this will be by providing hand handouts. Each visitor will be instructed to properly wash or sanitize hands. Hand sanitizer is provided upon entry and before and after resident contact. A poster on hand washing, cough etiquette is posted throughout.
    3. All areas that are required to be disinfected will be thoroughly cleaned before disinfected.
  6. Visitations are from 9am-9pm, at a minimum. Visitors requesting to come any other time must make arrangements with the administrator or designee in advance.
  7. The Facility will not require visitors to provide proof of vaccination or immunization status.
  8. All visitors must sign in/out and wear a visitor badge, visits are done throughout the building
  9. Consensual physical contact between residents and visitors will not be restricted
  10. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.
  11. All visitors will be asked to agree in writing to follow this policy.
  12. The administrator or designee may suspend in-person visitation of a specific visitor in case of violation of the provider’s policy and procedures on visitation.
  13. Essential caregiver visitors must wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) per facility’s infection control policies. The PPE required must be consistent with the most recent CDC guidelines for healthcare workers.
  14. At Sweet Home at Last the essential caregiver visitors shall wear the same PPE that staff wear to provide care or services to the residents.
  15. Sweet Home at Last essential caregiver visitors’ policy and procedure is available on the homepage of our website sweethomeatlast.com
  16. Any changes to Sweet Home at Last essential caregiver policies must be promptly communicated to the affected residents and essential caregiver visitors.