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Assisted living facilities opening to visits

Posted

Dona Ana County is one of 25 counties in the state in which long-term care facilities are being allowed to expand COVID-safe visitation options. Eight counties remain ineligible based on COVID-19 positivity rates.

The new guidelines announced by the Department of Health allow once-monthly, by-appointment, open-window visits or visits using a plexiglass barrier between a single family member and a COVID-negative resident. During the visit, all participants will be masked unless the resident has a medical condition that prohibits masking, in which case 12-foot distancing will be enforced. Facilities can also create outdoor visitation stations.  

Long-term care facilities have been instructed by the Department of Health to ensure visitation spaces are thoroughly cleaned before and after use.  

For the safety of residents and visitors, visitation will be discontinued if there is a new positive or an outbreak within a facility. These new visitation options can resume once the facility has gone two weeks without a new positive and if the county meets eligibility criteria. Visitation guidelines could change based on the positivity rate of the county. 

Eligibility criteria for the counties as well as the guidelines will be posted at cv.nmhealth.org at the end of every month. 

Closed-window, virtual and telephonic visitation may continue and is encouraged. Compassionate care visits for residents at end-of-life and those with declining health is also still permitted. All screening measures must be maintained, and the state’s operative emergency public health order remains in effect in all settings. No staff member or visitor who is sick or feeling unwell should be allowed in the facility or participate in visitations. 

For more information regarding the new visitation options visit cv.nmhealth.org or contact the New Mexico Department of Health’s Division of Health Improvement at 505-476-9074.


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