On Friday The NY Department of Health released regulatory guidance and requirements skilled nursing facilities (including us, Andrus on Hudson “AOH”) must take before easing any restrictions for visitors.
While the visitation restrictions have been necessary to help protect residents, we know and understand these restrictions have been difficult and frustrating for loved ones and we want to make sure we begin the initial steps to enable us to ease the restrictions—with an emphasis on safety and prevention to the fullest extent possible.
Andrus on Hudson has consistently acted out of an abundance of caution and will continue to take extensive action to protect its residents and staff.
The regulatory requirements before easing visitation restrictions are numerous but here are some key highlights:
· Submission of a NY Forward Safety Plan to the NY Department of Health for safety-focused easing of restrictions (already completed and submitted)
· 28 consistent days of no resident or staff positive tests
· Operational agreement for access to lab testing for COVID-19 (complete)
· Protocols in place to cohort any residents with COVID-19 (complete)
· Electronic media (website) and notifications system in place to communicate changes in status for visitation policies (complete)
Currently, there are no residents (short or long term) at Andrus on Hudson on our COVID-19 symptom watch-list and protocols.
We will continue to provide updates on this process on www.AOHNotify.com with a link available through our main website: www.andrusonhudson.org