PREVENT THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS IN WALTON COUNTY LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES - Measures To Support Long-Term Care Facilities
DeFuniak Springs, Fla.— The Florida Department of Health in Walton County (DOH-Walton) is working closely with local nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to take proactive steps to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. Nursing home populations are at a higher risk of being affected by COVID-19 because residents are typically older or disabled adults often with underlying chronic medical conditions.
As of 10:00 am, May 4, 2020, there is currently one long-term care facility in Walton County that has positive cases of COVID-19. The facility is Chautauqua Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in DeFuniak Springs. The Florida Department of Health publishes the list at FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov.
The daily COVID-19 report also includes information from the Agency for Health Care Administration, by county about cases and deaths related to staff or residents in long-term care facilities. There have been seventeen residents and/or staff that have tested positive for COVID-19 in Walton County. This report is also available at FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov.
Public health efforts at this time are focused concurrently on containing the spread of this virus and mitigating the impact of this virus. Contact tracing is used during such efforts. Persons identified to be atrisk through the contact tracing process are interviewed, evaluated, and educated on their risk factors and what to do.
Measures to Support Long-Term Care Facilities The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that nursing homes:
• Restrict all visitation except for certain compassionate care situations, such as end of life situations
• Restrict all volunteers and non-essential healthcare personnel (HCP), including non-essential personal care providers (e.g., barbers)
• Cancel all group activities and communal dining
• Implement active screening of residents and HCP for fever and respiratory symptoms
DOH-Walton monitors implementation of the CDC’s guidelines by facilitating daily communication and conducting readiness assessments with each Walton County long-term care facility. The readiness assessments include an infection control evaluation, education of prevention measures and resources available to support prevention practices, and contact information for epidemiology and infection control specialists. These proactive steps improve long-term care facilities’ ability to:
• Prevent the introduction of COVID-19 into the facility.
• Identify infections early.
• Mitigate the spread if infection occurs.
• Assess the facility’s supply of personal protective equipment (PPE). • Initiate measures to optimize the supply of PPE.
• Manage severe illness