Visitor Policy

Community: ROYAL PALM SENIOR RESIDENCE

Initial Effective Date: May 6, 2022
Revised and Reviewed #3 : November 30, 2023

RULE ESTABLISHED

Florida Law Chapter 2022-34 Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No,988
“No Patient Left Alone Act.”
Resident Essential Caregiver Designation Form
Essential Caregiver Acceptance Form

Purpose

On April 6th, 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law the In-Person Visitation bill creating Chapter 408.823, its subject “In-person visitation”. This Florida families the fundamental right to visit their loved ones receiving care in healthcare facilities. This policy and these are intended to serve in compliance with the regulations set forth in Chapter 408.823, Florida Statutes.  A resident may designate visitor(s) who is a family members friend, guardian, or other individuals as an essential caregiver. This policy will outline in-person visitation, screening, and for visitors upon arrival and educational materials available for visitors, which are also posted in our community and on our community webpage.

Policy:

Royal Palm Senior Residence facility no longer mandates the wearing of masks when within the community.   It will remain optional.  Infectious Diseases testing prior to or during a visit will also not be required. Royal Palm Senior Residence does not mandate vaccinations/immunizations as a condition to visitation and in order to allow consensual physical contact between your loved ones and our residents.

Visiting hours are from 9am – 9pm.   Royal Palm Senior Residence does not limit length of visit.

The following are the procedures to be followed to identify Essential Caregivers for residents and the expectations. These procedures will be administered equally to all residents that request to have essential caregiver(s), without regard to raw, color, religion, sex (including gender identity and transgender status), acquired, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Procedures:

I. For designation and utilization of essential caregiver visitors.

1. Royal Palm Senior Residence will provide the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) with a copy of the facility’s essential caregiver visitor’s policy and procedure, with the initial licensure application, renewal application, and/or change of ownership application.
2. Royal Palm Senior Residence In-Person Visitation policy and procedure, infection control and education policy, are available upon request
3. Royal Palm Senior Residence will designate The Administrator as key staff to support infection prevention and control training.
4. All residents and/or POA/guardian if appropriate, will be asked if they want to an Essential Caregiver(s).
5. All new residents will be asked if they would like to identify an Essential Caregiver(s) upon move-in.
6. All residents will be allowed to update as requested the named Essential Caregiver(s) of record within 2 business days of request.
7. Residents are allowed in-person visitation in all the following circumstances, unless the resident, client, or patient objects:
   1. End-of-life situations.
   2. A resident, client, or patient who was living with family before being admitted to thc provider’s care is struggling with the change in environment and lack of in-person family support.
   3. The resident, client, or patient is making one or more major medical decisions.
   4. resident, client, or patient is emotional distress or grieving the loss of a friend or family member who recently died.
   5. A resident, client, or patient needs cueing or encouragement to or drink which was previously provided by a family member or caregiver.
   6. A resident, client, or patient who uscd to talk and interact with others is seldom speaking.
8. More than one essential caregiver visitor may be designated per resident.
9. The policy need NOT prohibit essential caregiver visitor visits if the specific resident to be visited is quarantined, tested positive, or showing symptoms of a communicable disease. Visits in these circumstances will likely require a higher level of PPE than standard surgical masks. The general visitation requirement that the facility has no new facility-onset of a communicable disease (for example infectious disease) is not applicable to visitation by essential caregiver visitors.
10. Royal Palm Senior Residence is not required to provide for “facility-provided” infectious diseases testing if, and only if, it is based on the most recent CDC and FDA guidance. The cost of this testing cannot be passed on to the visitor.
11. Essential caregiver visitors must wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) per facility’s Infection Control Policies when demonstrated by thc community to do so (for example facility- onset of infectious disease cases). PPE required must be consistent with Ihe most recent CDC guidance for healthcare workers. Caregiver visitors may be asked to wear the same PPE that staff wear to provide care or servicæs to the resident when the facility demonstrates to do so (for example facility-onset ofinfectious disease(s) cases).
12. Any changes to Royal Palm Senior Residence In-Person Visitation policies must be promptly communicated to affected residents and essential caregiver visitors.

We will ask visitors to agree and acknowledge the policy and procedure in writing entering the community. Included in this policy authorizes the community to suspend in-person visitation of a specific visitor if the visitor violates the community is policy and procedure.

II. To facilitate visits by Essential caregiver visitors upon a request
from a resident or friend/family member:

1. The resident (or their representative) will read and sign the policy and procedures. The acknowledgment of the signature represents that the essential caregiver visitor will abide by the policies set forth in this document.
2. The essential caregiver visitor will have public community access to the Royal Palm Senior Residence infection prevention and control including the use of PPE, use ofmasks, hand sanitation, and distancing.
3. The essential caregivcr visitor must immediately inform the facility if they develop symptoms consistent with a communicable disease within 24-hours of their last visit at Royal Palm Senior Residence.
4. Essential caregiver visits may take place in the resident’s room or a designated area determined by Royal Palm Senior Residence at the time thc visitation schedule is developed and agreed upon.

III. When an essential caregiver visitor is scheduled to visit, the
facility will:

1. Royal Palm Senior Residence will not screen the visitor for infectious disease(s).
2. Royal Palm Senior Residence will ensure that the required consents, and training, and policy acknowledgments are in place and posted in the community.
3. Royal Palm Senior will require the essential caregiver visitor to sign in and out on the visitor log & signature to acknowledge and agree to the visitation rights policy and procedure.
4. Royal Palm Senior Residence will monitor the essential caregiver visitors adherence to policies and procedures.
5. If the essential caregiver visitor fails to follow the facility’s infection prevention and control requirements, after attempts to mitigate concerns, shall restrict or revoke visitation.
6. In the event the essential caregiver visitor’s status is revoked due to the individual-not following the facility’s policy and procedures, the resident may select a different essential caregiver visitor who will granted visitation rights upon proper vetting and agreeing to Royal Palm Senior Residence facility policies and procedures.
7. We ask if you are not feeling well, experiencing symptoms not limited to a cough, cold, fever, flu like symptoms to please refrain from visiting your loved one and the community. If you have been exposed to infectious diseases or are positive with infectious disease, we also ask that you refrain from visiting your loved one and the community until symptoms have resolved and/or no longer Infectious disease positive.

Principles of INFECTIOUS DISEASES Infection Prevention

– Hand hygiene (hand washing and use of alcohol-based hand rub)

– Face covering or mask (covering mouth & nose) and physical distancing at least six feet between people, in accordance with CDC guidance, is optional.

Indoor Visitation during an Outbreak Investigation
An outbreak investigation is initiated when a new facility onset of INFECTIOUS DISEASES occurs (i.e., a new INFECTIOUS DISEASES case among residents or staff.)

• Visitors may be allowed in the facility during an outbreak investigation.
• Visitors should be made aware of the potential risk of visiting during an outbreak investigation and adhere to the core principles of infection prevention.
• If residents or their representative would like to have a visit during an outbreak investigation, they should wear face coverings or masks during visits, regardless of vaccination status, and visits shall occur in the resident’s room.

Exhibit:

Committee Substitute for Senate Bill No. 988

An act relating to in-person visitation; providing a short title; creating s.408.823, F.S.; providing applicability; requiring certain providers to establish visitation policies and procedures within a specified timeframe; providing requirements for such policies and procedures; authorizing the resident, client, or patient to designate an essential caregiver; establishing requirements related to essential caregivers; requiring in-person visitation in certain circumstances; providing that the policies and procedures may require visitors to agree in writing to follow such policies and procedures; authorizing providers to suspend in-person visitation of specific visitors under certain circumstances; requiring providers to provide their policies and procedures to the Agency for Health Care Administration at specified times; requiring providers to make their policies and procedures available to the agency for review at any time, upon request; requiring providers to make their policies and procedures easily accessible from the homepage of their websites within a specified timeframe; requiring the agency to dedicate a stand-alone page on its website for specified purposes; providing a directive to the Division of Law Revision; providing an effective date.

 

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

Section 1. This act may be cited as the “No Patient Left Alone Act.”

Section 2. Section 408.823, Florida Statutes, is created to read: 408.823 In-person visitation.

• This section applies to developmental disabilities centers as defined in s. 393.063, hospitals licensed under chapter 395, nursing home facilities licensed under part II of chapter 400, hospice facilities licensed under part IV of chapter 400, intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled licensed and certified under part VIII of chapter 400, and assisted living facilities licensed under part I of chapter 429.

(2)(a) No later than 30 days after the effective date of this act, each provider shall establish visitation policies and procedures. The policies and procedures must, at a minimum, include infection control and education policies for visitors; screening, personal protective equipment, and other infection control protocols for visitors; permissible length of visits and numbers of visitors, which must meet or exceed the standards in ss.400.022(1) (b) and 429.28(1)(d), as applicable; and designation of a person responsible for ensuring that staff adheres to the policies and procedures. Safety-related policies and procedures may not be more stringent than those established for the provider’s staff and may not require visitors to submit proof of any vaccination or immunization. The policies and procedures must allow consensual physical contact between a resident, client, or patient and the visitor.

(b) A resident, client, or patient may designate a visitor who is a family member, friend, guardian, or other individual as an essential caregiver. The provider must allow in-person visitation by the essential caregiver for at least 2 hours daily in addition to any other visitation authorized by the provider. This section does not require an essential caregiver to provide necessary care to a resident, client, or patient of a provider, and providers may not require an essential caregiver to provide such care.

 

(c) The visitation policies and procedures required by this section must allow in-person visitation in all of the following circumstances, unless the resident, client, or patient objects:

1. End-of-life situations.
2. A resident, client, or patient who was living with family before being

admitted to the provider’s care is struggling with the change in environment and lack of in-person family support.

3. The resident, client, or patient is making one or more major medical decisions.
4. A resident, client, or patient is experiencing emotional distress or grieving the loss of a friend or family member who recently died.
5. A resident, client, or patient needs cueing or encouragement to eat or drink which was previously provided by a family member or caregiver.
6. A resident, client, or patient who used to talk and interact with others is seldom speaking.
7. For hospitals, childbirth, including labor and delivery.
8. Pediatric patients.

 

(d)The policies and procedures may require a visitor to agree in writing to follow the provider’s policies and procedures. A provider may suspend in-person visitation of a specific visitor if the visitor violates the provider’s policies and procedures.

(e) The providers shall provide their visitation policies and procedures to the agency when applying for initial licensure, licensure renewal, or change of ownership. The provider must make the visitation policies and procedures available to the agency for review at any time, upon request.

(f) Within 24 hours after establishing the policies and procedures required under this section, providers must make such policies and procedures easily accessible from the homepage of their websites.

 

(3) The agency shall dedicate a stand-alone page on its website to explain the visitation requirements of this section and provide a link to the agency’s webpage to report complaints.

 

Section 3. The Division of Law Revision is directed to replace the phrase

 

“30 days after the effective date of this act” wherever it occurs in this act with the date 30 days after this act becomes a law.

 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.

 Approved by the Governor April 6, 2022.

 Filed in Office Secretary of State April 6, 2022