MARQUETTE — With the holiday season underway, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reminds Michiganders about long-term-care visitation guidance designed to protect residents from COVID-19 while still allowing for visitation with family and friends.

MDHHS has updated its guidance based on recent changes to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid recommendations.

“Long-term-care residents receive physical, emotional and spiritual support by visiting with their family and friends, particularly during the holiday season,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director, in a statement. “Our updated guidance provides key steps to take to make these visits as safe and fulfilling as possible.”

Melissa Samuel, president and CEO of the Health Care Association of Michigan, stressed that since COVID cases remain at a high level, it is critical that family and friends follow all current precautions to protect all residents and staff when visiting Michigan’s skilled nursing facilities.

Regarding long-time care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services noted that if a visitor, resident or their representative is aware of the risks associated with visitation, and the visit occurs in a manner that does not place other residents at risk, residents must be allowed to receive visitors as they choose.

Previous public health precautions were designed to prevent visitors from introducing COVID-19 into long-term-care facilities, MDDHS said, but the risks of COVID-19 transmission related to visitation is low, especially when core principles of infection prevention are observed and in settings where vaccination rates are high.

MDDHS reported that approximately 84% of residents in long-term-care facilities in Michigan are fully vaccinated. Booster doses are also now available to those who live or work in long-term-care settings. MDHHS strongly recommends long-term-care facilities schedule clinics on site so residents, staff and visitors can receive vaccinations and boosters as soon as possible.

Additional updates to CMS guidance include:

≤ Visitors who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19 or currently meet the criteria for quarantine, should not enter the facility.

≤ Outdoor visits are preferred during times of warmer weather when the resident or visitor is not fully vaccinated.

≤ Facilities must allow indoor visitation at all times and for all residents.

≤ While it is safer for visitors not to enter the facility during an outbreak investigation, visitors must still be allowed in the facility.

≤ While not recommended, residents who are on transmission-based precautions or quarantine may receive visitors, especially if alternative methods of visitation such as a phone call, window or virtual visitation are not conducive for visitation.

≤ Facilities can no longer limit the frequency and length of visits for residents, the number of visitors or require advance scheduling of visits.

Regarding masking:

≤ If the resident and their visitor(s) are fully vaccinated and the resident is not moderately or severely immunocompromised, they may choose not to wear face coverings or masks.

≤ If the nursing home’s county COVID-19 community level of transmission is substantial to high, all residents and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, should wear face coverings or masks and physically distance.

MDHHS has issued a public health advisory that recommends everyone over age 2 should wear a face mask at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status. In addition, establishments should implement a policy to ensure that all persons entering or seeking services, including employees, wear a mask. This face mask advisory remains in effect until further notice.

Compassionate care visits are allowed at all times, MDHHS said, and residents may also choose to have physical touch based on their preferences and needs. Failure to facilitate visitation would constitute a potential violation and a facility would be subject to citation and enforcement actions.

In addition, although recommended by MDHHS, visitor testing is not required to visit. Facilities in counties with substantial or high levels of community transmission are encouraged to offer testing to visitors onsite or may encourage visitors to have testing two to three days before coming to the facility.

Town halls continue

To help deliver health information to Upper Peninsula residents, Michigan Tech University continues to offer the U.P. COVID-19 Town Halls Series. Organized by the Health Research Institute, the 60-minute virtual town halls are broadcast live on Zoom, Facebook Live and on WOLV-FM on the last Thursday of each month.

Over the course of the series, moderated by professors Steven Elmer and Kelly Kamm of the MTU Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology, clinicians, public health officials, researchers and community experts have discussed a range of pandemic-related topics and answered questions from the community.

The goal of the series, Elmer and Kamm said, is to increase community awareness about COVID-19 and how it impacts health and society.

All town halls are recorded and archived, and can be viewed on the Health Research Institute website at www.mtu.edu/health-research/and its YouTube Channel.

Each town hall also is broadcast again at noon Sunday after each live broadcast on WBUP-TV.

An in-depth look at the many facets of the COVID-19 pandemic will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The U.P. COVID-19 Town Hall Series has been made possible through support from numerous community and professional organizations, including U.P. Health System-Portage, Aspirus, Aspirus Iron Area Health Foundation, Upper Peninsula Power Company, MTEC SmartZone, Physiological Society and Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

NMU updates numbers

Northern Michigan University’s COVID reporting dashboard, found at https://nmu.edu/safe-on-campus/dashboard, indicated that as of Monday, there have been a total of 118 positive cases, or 1.7%, since the fall semester began.

The student vaccination rate was reported at 73.6%, with the residence hall vaccination rate 76.4% and the employee vaccination rate 90.4%.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.

By CHRISTIE MASTRIC

Journal Staff Writer

MARQUETTE — With the holiday season underway, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reminds Michiganders about long-term-care visitation guidance designed to protect residents from COVID-19 while still allowing for visitation with family and friends.

MDHHS has updated its guidance based on recent changes to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid recommendations.

“Long-term-care residents receive physical, emotional and spiritual support by visiting with their family and friends, particularly during the holiday season,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director, in a statement. “Our updated guidance provides key steps to take to make these visits as safe and fulfilling as possible.”

Melissa Samuel, president and CEO of the Health Care Association of Michigan, stressed that since COVID cases remain at a high level, it is critical that family and friends follow all current precautions to protect all residents and staff when visiting Michigan’s skilled nursing facilities.

Regarding long-time care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services noted that if a visitor, resident or their representative is aware of the risks associated with visitation, and the visit occurs in a manner that does not place other residents at risk, residents must be allowed to receive visitors as they choose.

Previous public health precautions were designed to prevent visitors from introducing COVID-19 into long-term-care facilities, MDDHS said, but the risks of COVID-19 transmission related to visitation is low, especially when core principles of infection prevention are observed and in settings where vaccination rates are high.

MDDHS reported that approximately 84% of residents in long-term-care facilities in Michigan are fully vaccinated. Booster doses are also now available to those who live or work in long-term-care settings. MDHHS strongly recommends long-term-care facilities schedule clinics on site so residents, staff and visitors can receive vaccinations and boosters as soon as possible.

Additional updates to CMS guidance include:

≤ Visitors who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19 or currently meet the criteria for quarantine, should not enter the facility.

≤ Outdoor visits are preferred during times of warmer weather when the resident or visitor is not fully vaccinated.

≤ Facilities must allow indoor visitation at all times and for all residents.

≤ While it is safer for visitors not to enter the facility during an outbreak investigation, visitors must still be allowed in the facility.

≤ While not recommended, residents who are on transmission-based precautions or quarantine may receive visitors, especially if alternative methods of visitation such as a phone call, window or virtual visitation are not conducive for visitation.

≤ Facilities can no longer limit the frequency and length of visits for residents, the number of visitors or require advance scheduling of visits.

Regarding masking:

≤ If the resident and their visitor(s) are fully vaccinated and the resident is not moderately or severely immunocompromised, they may choose not to wear face coverings or masks.

≤ If the nursing home’s county COVID-19 community level of transmission is substantial to high, all residents and visitors, regardless of vaccination status, should wear face coverings or masks and physically distance.

MDHHS has issued a public health advisory that recommends everyone over age 2 should wear a face mask at indoor gatherings regardless of their vaccination status. In addition, establishments should implement a policy to ensure that all persons entering or seeking services, including employees, wear a mask. This face mask advisory remains in effect until further notice.

Compassionate care visits are allowed at all times, MDHHS said, and residents may also choose to have physical touch based on their preferences and needs. Failure to facilitate visitation would constitute a potential violation and a facility would be subject to citation and enforcement actions.

In addition, although recommended by MDHHS, visitor testing is not required to visit. Facilities in counties with substantial or high levels of community transmission are encouraged to offer testing to visitors onsite or may encourage visitors to have testing two to three days before coming to the facility.

Town halls continue

To help deliver health information to Upper Peninsula residents, Michigan Tech University continues to offer the U.P. COVID-19 Town Halls Series. Organized by the Health Research Institute, the 60-minute virtual town halls are broadcast live on Zoom, Facebook Live and on WOLV-FM on the last Thursday of each month.

Over the course of the series, moderated by professors Steven Elmer and Kelly Kamm of the MTU Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology, clinicians, public health officials, researchers and community experts have discussed a range of pandemic-related topics and answered questions from the community.

The goal of the series, Elmer and Kamm said, is to increase community awareness about COVID-19 and how it impacts health and society.

All town halls are recorded and archived, and can be viewed on the Health Research Institute website at www.mtu.edu/health-research/and its YouTube Channel.

Each town hall also is broadcast again at noon Sunday after each live broadcast on WBUP-TV.

An in-depth look at the many facets of the COVID-19 pandemic will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The U.P. COVID-19 Town Hall Series has been made possible through support from numerous community and professional organizations, including U.P. Health System-Portage, Aspirus, Aspirus Iron Area Health Foundation, Upper Peninsula Power Company, MTEC SmartZone, Physiological Society and Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

NMU updates numbers

Northern Michigan University’s COVID reporting dashboard, found at https://nmu.edu/safe-on-campus/dashboard, indicated that as of Monday, there have been a total of 118 positive cases, or 1.7%, since the fall semester began.

The student vaccination rate was reported at 73.6%, with the residence hall vaccination rate 76.4% and the employee vaccination rate 90.4%.

Christie Mastric can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250. Her email address is cbleck@miningjournal.net.