Current Covid Information

Corona Virus Information and Visitation Facts

Hello and welcome to our Ravenswood Supportive Living Corona Virus Notification Page

We will continue posting updates to this page as needed for your convenience during this Corona Virus Pandemic.

Ravenswood Supportive Living has 0 Resident with any newly confirmed positive test and 0 Employees with newly confirmed positive tests today. Cumulatively we have had 0 Resident(s) with a confirmed positive test and 0 Employee(s) with a confirmed positive test to date.

We follow all of the guidance for long term Supportive Living care facilities set forth by the Illinois Department of Public Health and Health and Family Services. There continue to be recommendations and guidance daily to help us navigate safely through this pandemic.

Since we currently have no cases of COVID 19 with either Residents or Staff we are allowing open visitation.  We ask that you please follow all guidelines set out in this message as you prepare for your visit.  In addition to visits, our Residents our able to enjoy communal dining and group activities.

Below are our Visiting policy and guidelines. Please remember this process takes a lot of coordination, assistance, and monitoring to maintain compliance with the rules we have been provided to ensure everyone’s health and safety. If you would like to plan a visit please review all the rules and responsibilities. Failure to follow these rules will result in cancellation and/or stopping the visit at any time. Please be patient with us.

Per the Illinois Department of Public Health Outdoor Visits are always preferred please see our Outdoor visit guidelines included.

Visitors who are unable to adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention should not be permitted to visit or should be asked to leave. By following a person-centered approach and adhering to these core principles, visitation can occur safely based on the below guidance.

Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention

• Screeningof all who enter the facility for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., temperature checks, questions about and observations of signs or symptoms), and denial of entry of those with signs or symptoms or those who have had close contact with someone with COVID-19 infection in the prior 14 days (regardless of the visitor’s vaccination status).
• Hand hygiene(use of alcohol-based hand rub is preferred to soap and water).
• Face covering or mask (covering mouth and nose).
• Social distancing at least 6 feet between persons.
• Instructional signage throughout the facility and visitor education on COVID-19 signs and symptoms, infection control precautions, other applicable facility practices (e.g., use of cloth face mask or face covering, specified entries, exits and routes to designated areas, hand hygiene).
• Cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces in the facility often, and designated visitation areas after each visit.
• Appropriate staff use of PPE.
• Effective cohorting of residents (e.g., separate areas dedicated to COVID-19 care).
• Resident and staff testing as required.

Visits may occur:

• Outdoors
• In dedicated indoor visitation spaces
• In private rooms
• In shared rooms provided that only one resident can have visitors at a time in-room without roommate present if possible, and core principles of infection control are maintained.

Outdoor Visitation

Visitors are required to comply with the facility’s visitation policy. If a visitor refuses to follow the facility’s policy during the visit, then staff may end the visit.

While taking a person-centered approach and adhering to the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention, outdoor visitation is preferred even when the resident and visitor are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Outdoor visits generally pose a lower risk of transmission due to increased space and airflow. Therefore, visits should be held outdoors whenever practicable. However, weather considerations (e.g., inclement weather, excessively hot or cold temperatures, poor air quality) or an individual resident’s health status (e.g., medical condition(s), COVID-19 status) may hinder outdoor visits.

For outdoor visits, facilities should create accessible and safe outdoor spaces for visitation, such as in courtyards, patios, or parking lots, including the use of tents (open on at least two sides), if available. When conducting outdoor visitation, all appropriate infection control and prevention practices should be adhered to.

Outdoor visitation key points:

• Designate outdoor space for visitation.
• Visits may take place under a canopy or tent without walls.
• Measure the designated outdoor space and determine the number of residents and visitors that can be accommodated at one time in that area with at least 6-foot separation between residents and their visitors
• Consider marking the ground to show how visitors can place themselves with at least 6-foot separation.
• Post maximum number of residents and visitors that can occupy the area.
• Post signage to cue 6-foot separation, face covering, and hand hygiene.
• Set up dispensers for alcohol-based hand rub.
• Designate outdoor visitation hours when staff for screening and supervision of visitors will be available.
• The facility may limit the number of visitors per resident at one time.
• Create an appointment schedule with time slots for each visitation area.
• Schedule visits by appointment only; specify start, end time, and location for each visit.
• Limit sign-ups to the allowed number of visitors in each time slot and visitation area.
• If demand for appointment slots exceeds availability, set limits on the number of slots per week or per day for each resident.
• Pre-screen visitors either by phone using its checklist-based screening protocol (see section on Universal Screening above) or through electronic screening methods, required less than 24 hours in advance; re-screen with the same protocol on arrival, as for all other persons entering the facility, including temperature check. (Facilities cannot require viral testing of visitors as unless they offer point-of-care testing at no charge).
• Maintain a record of all visitors with contact information, for potential contact tracing.
• Record date and time of visit, name, address, telephone, and, if available, email address.
• Make records available to IDPH and local health department for inspection and, as needed, for contact tracing; retain at least 30 days.
• Notify all visitors upon arrival that if they develop symptoms of COVID-19 within three days after visiting, they must immediately notify the facility.
• Ensure infection control practices are utilized, including that visitors keep at least a 6-foot separation between themselves and the resident, that the visitor continually wears a cloth face mask or face covering, and that the visitor practices proper hand hygiene.
• If feasible, the facility may construct an outdoor conversation booth for residents unable or unwilling to wear a cloth face mask or face covering.
• The conversation booth is constructed as a three-sided box with transparent walls at least 3 feet higher than the seated height of the occupant and the visitor.
• The resident sits inside the box and the visitor sits opposite the front wall.
• Between visits clean and disinfect seating and frequently touched surfaces in the visitation area.
• The long-term care facility must submit its outdoor visitation policy upon request to IDPH or the certified local health department.

Indoor Visitation

Facilities should allow indoor visitation at all times and for all residents (regardless of vaccination status), except for a few circumstances when visitation should be limited due to a high risk of COVID-19 transmission (note: compassionate care visits should be permitted at all times).

These scenarios include limiting indoor visitation for:

• Unvaccinated residents, if the nursing home’s COVID-19 county positivity rate is >10% and <70% of residents in the facility are fully vaccinated;

Residents with confirmed COVID-19 infection, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met the criteria to discontinue transmission-based precautions; or

• Residents in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated, until they have met criteria for release from quarantine.

Facilities should consider:

• The number of visitors per resident at one time and the total number of visitors in the facility at one time (based on the size of the building and physical space).
• If necessary, facilities should consider scheduling visits for a specific length of time to help ensure all residents are able to receive visitors.
• During indoor visitation, facilities should limit visitor movement in the facility. For example, visitors should not walk around different halls of the facility. Rather, they should go directly to the resident’s room or designated visitation area.
• CMS and CDC continue to recommend facilities, residents, and families adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention, including physical distancing (maintaining at least 6 feet between people). This continues to be the safest way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, particularly if either party has not been fully vaccinated.

Assisted living facilities and other similar arrangements

For Assisted Living Facilities (ALF), Shared Housing Establishments (SHE), Sheltered Care Facilities, and Supportive Living Facilities (SLF), visits can be in common areas or in residents’ apartments, with 6-foot separation and cloth face covering or masking by visitors and residents.

Indoor Visitation During an Outbreak

While outbreaks increase the risk of COVID-19 transmission, a facility should not restrict visitation for all residents when there is evidence the transmission of COVID-19 is contained to a single area (e.g., unit) of the facility.

Facilities should continue to adhere to CMS regulations and guidance for COVID-19 testing, including routine staff testing, testing of individuals with symptoms, and outbreak testing.

When a new case of COVID-19 among residents or staff is identified, a facility should immediately begin outbreak testing and suspend all visitation (except that required under federal disability rights law), until at least one round of facility-wide testing is completed.

Visitation can resume based on the following criteria:

• If the first round of outbreak testing reveals no additional COVID-19 cases in other areas (e.g., units) of the facility, then visitation can resume for residents in areas/units with no COVID-19 cases.
• However, the facility should suspend visitation on the affected unit until the facility meets the criteria to discontinue outbreak testing. For example, if the first round of outbreak testing reveals two or more COVID-19 cases in the same unit as the original case, but not in other units, visitation can resume for residents in areas/units with no COVID-19 cases.
• If the first round of outbreak testing reveals one or more additional COVID-19 cases in other areas/units of the facility (e.g., new cases in two or more units), then facilities should suspend visitation for all residents (vaccinated and unvaccinated), until the facility meets the criteria to discontinue outbreak testing.

While the above scenarios describe how visitation can continue after one round of outbreak testing, facilities should continue all necessary rounds of outbreak testing. In other words, this guidance provides information on how visitation can occur during an outbreak but does not change any expectations for testing and adherence to infection prevention and control practices. If subsequent rounds of outbreak testing identify one or more additional COVID-19 cases in other areas/units of the facility, then facilities should suspend visitation for all residents (vaccinated and unvaccinated), until the facility meets the criteria to discontinue outbreak testing.

Note: In all cases, visitors should be notified about the potential for COVID-19 exposure in the facility and adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention, including effective hand hygiene and use of face-coverings. Lastly, facilities should continue to consult with their local health departments when an outbreak is identified to ensure adherence to infection control precautions, and for recommendations to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. The facility then notifies residents, their families or guardians, the long-term care ombudsman of relevant operational changes. Facilities should meet this requirement by using multiple communication channels, such as email listservs, social media, website postings, recorded telephone messages, and/or paper notification. Facilities should post signage about the potential for COVID-19 exposure in the facility (e.g., appropriate signage regarding current outbreaks), and adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention, including effective hand hygiene and use of face-coverings.

Compassionate Care Visits

While end-of-life situations have been used as examples of compassionate care situations, the term “compassionate care situations” does not exclusively refer to end-of-life situations.

Examples of other types of compassionate care situations include, but are not limited to:

• A resident who was living with their family before recently being admitted to a nursing home is struggling with the change in environment and lack of physical family support.
• A resident who is grieving after a friend or family member recently passed away.
• A resident who needs cueing and encouragement with eating or drinking, previously provided by family and/or caregiver(s), is experiencing weight loss or dehydration.
• A resident who used to talk and interact with others is experiencing emotional distress, seldom speaking, or crying more frequently (when the resident had a resident who used to talk and interact with others is experiencing emotional distress, seldom speaking, or crying more frequently (when the resident had rarely cried in the past).

Allowing a visit in these situations would be consistent with the intent of “compassionate care situations.” Also, in addition to family members, compassionate care visits can be conducted by any individual who can meet the resident’s needs, such as clergy or lay persons offering religious and spiritual support. Furthermore, the above list is not an exhaustive list as there may be other compassionate care situations not included.

Compassionate care visits, and visits required under federal disability rights law, should be allowed at all times, regardless of a resident’s vaccination status, the county’s COVID-19 positivity rate, or an outbreak.