State Focuses On Long Term Care Facilities

(KFOR NEWS May 18, 2020) The state is working on long-term care (LTC) facilities during the pandemic.

Becky Wisell, interim deputy director of Health Licensure and Environmental Health for the Division of Public Health at DHHS, says, “Nursing homes are regulated by the state and by Medicare and Medicaid,” Wisell said. “Facilities have long been preparing for emergencies. I am not sure any of us imagined the magnitude of COVID-19.”

Wisell said a top priority for DHHS is that residents continue to receive quality care during the pandemic. “We all want to protect our long-term care residents.”

To that end, DHHS has developed a long-term care COVID-19 Response Plan Tool that provides guidance on infection control, disinfections protocols and mental health resources among other items. The resource is being distributed to long-term care facilities to help in their planning.