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Long-term care testing initiative underway; phased reopening and restricted visitation planned
Summary
Arkansas Healthcare Association said it has completed baseline testing in many long-term care facilities and will use health-department clearance letters and regional bed capacity to phase limited visitation and communal activities starting July 1 for eligible facilities.
Rachel Bunch, executive director of the Arkansas Healthcare Association, described a statewide initiative to baseline-test long-term care (LTC) facilities and a phased approach to limited reopening.
Bunch said the LTC testing effort had completed 24,557 tests with 198 positives in the statewide initiative portion and that 91 facilities currently had active cases while 23 had cleared and were being followed. She emphasized that reopening would be facility-specific: each site must meet ADH criteria including negative testing, adequate staffing and sufficient hospital beds in the region before receiving an ADH clearance letter. "Facilities that meet this new criteria will be eligible for limited reopening on July 1," she said, and described limits such as scheduled visits, masks, 6-foot distancing, and a maximum of two visitors per resident.
Bunch and hospital witnesses noted that reopening will look different than pre-pandemic operations and will require significant operational changes, scheduling and continued infection controls. Committee members pressed for clarity on when families could visit after a facility clears a cluster and how decisions are made for end-of-life visits; witnesses said medical directors make case-by-case decisions with ADH guidance.
What's next: The LTC testing program continues; facilities meeting clearance criteria can begin limited reopening under new protocols while ADH and provider associations coordinate to manage staff, PPE and regional bed constraints.
