LOVELAND MAGAZINE

News and Events from the Loveland, Ohio Area

Without fear or favor
Since 2004

Tag: assisted living facilities

  • State COVID 19 emergency gone – New guidelines for visitation to nursing homes

    State COVID 19 emergency gone – New guidelines for visitation to nursing homes

    Columbus, Ohio – On Thursday, Governor Mike DeWine announced that the state emergency in Ohio caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be lifted as of Friday. He urged those who have not yet received the vaccine to find a clinic near them by visiting gettheshot.coronavirus.ohio.gov. 

    Governor DeWine also released new information regarding visitation to nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

    On Friday, the state regulations which describe how visits should occur were removed. This will allow residents to have more than two visitors, and there is no longer a scheduling requirement. According to the Governor, Ohio nursing homes are expected to continue to follow federal guidance from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and both nursing homes and assisted living facilities will be expected to follow CDC guidance. A testing requirement still remains for staff members who are unvaccinated, and they will need to continue to be tested twice per week.

    The Ohio Department of Aging will be hosting a series of webinars to ensure facilities have access to all the information and resources necessary for safe and healthy operations. More information about these webinars can be found on the department’s website at aging.ohio.gov.

  • Health Director signs amended orders on visitation to nursing homes and assisted living facility residents

    Health Director signs amended orders on visitation to nursing homes and assisted living facility residents

    Ohio Governor DeWine announced today that Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud has signed the following orders:

    General visitation requirements for nursing homes and assisted living facilities remain the same, including the requirement that visitors schedule appointments in advance, are screened at the door, and wear masks. Changes to the orders include: 

    • Ohio is requiring that visitation be permitted whenever safety protocols can be met. Previously, visitation was permitted, not required.
    • Vaccinated residents may have physical touch with their visitor while wearing a mask. Previously, touch was discouraged.
    • Visits may occur in a resident’s private room, as opposed to the previous requirement of a separate visitation area.
    • 30 minutes should serve as the minimum amount of time for a visit. Previously, 30 minutes was the maximum time to visit.

    The order also expands the circumstances in which compassionate care visits should be granted.

    In addition, the order updates nursing home and assisted living testing requirements to require the facilities to test vaccinated staff once per week and unvaccinated staff twice per week. The previous order made no distinction between vaccinated or unvaccinated staff.

  • Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s Week in Review

    Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s Week in Review

    The weekly press release from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine

    For the week ending April 24, 2020

    On Thursday, Governor DeWine and Lt. Governor Husted invited Mark Weir, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Environmental Health at The Ohio State University, to discuss how health risks change as changes are made to the environment.

    Dr. Weir explained that cough or sneeze droplets containing the virus spread through contact with others or contact with contaminated surfaces. He explained that minimizing the spread of the disease as Ohio begins the long process of reopening depends on personal and environmental controls. Personal precautions include interrupting the infection process by practicing good hand hygiene and wearing masks.

    Employers must take precautions by disinfecting surfaces often and maintaining distance between individuals. Finally, facility and building management can help interrupt the infection process by managing airflow and air filters.

    “Since COVID-19 can live up to 72 hours on plastics and stainless steel, it will take a combination of efforts from all of us to interrupt the disease process,” said Dr. Weir.

    On Friday, Governor DeWine announced that members of the newly formed Testing Strike Team, led by former Governors Celeste and Taft, have reached an agreement with Thermo Fisher, a company that makes reagent, that will substantially expand COVID-19 testing capacity in Ohio.

    As a result of collaborative efforts through the Ohio Manufacturing Alliance to Fight COVID-19, Governor DeWine announced that ROE Dental Laboratory in Cleveland will manufacture up to 1 million testing swabs to support Ohio’s testing efforts.

    This testing will dramatically increase Ohio’s ability to test in our priority areas, including nursing homes, hot spots, congregate living settings, food and grocery stores, and essential manufacturing facilities.

    As part of Ohio’s offense strategy, Governor DeWine announced that Ohio has started working with Massachusetts-based Partners in Health. Partners in Health will bring needed resources to Ohio to help increase the ability to trace contact exposure to the virus.

    Additionally, Governor DeWine announced that the state will cover the costs to keep more than 200 youth who are aging out of foster care in the foster care system until the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

    As of Friday afternoon, there were 15,169 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and 690 confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths. A total of 3,053 people have been hospitalized, including 920 admissions to intensive care units. In-depth data can be accessed by visiting coronavirus.ohio.gov.

    For more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.

    • EDITOR’S NOTE: Loveland school buildings are closed to the public, however remote learning is being conducted at the Loveland City School District.