Out on Pass (OOP) - Quarantine Protocols

Policy

As the county Covid-19 positivity rate fluctuates, the Actors Fund Home will adopt and change its quarantine protocols based on the need, for residents that leave the facility. 

Procedure

We understand there will be times when the rates in the community for Covid-19 will change and increase.  During those times, the Actors Fund Home will be more protective of residents going out.  We also realize that at times the numbers will be stable, and Covid-19 will not be prevalent throughout the community.   

The facility will adhere to the most current CDC and the NJDHSS Infection Prevention protocols for Covid-19 in LTC.  The facility will monitor cases through the CDC Community Transmission Levels. https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/documents/topics/NCOV/COVID-19_Activity_Report_2022_09_08.pdf.

Our goal is to prevent our residents from getting Covid-19, and the facility from going into Outbreak; and at the same time, we want to accommodate the social and emotional needs of the people who live here. We have determined that residents leave the facility for two reasons. 

  1. Medically Necessary Reason - a resident going out to a medical appointment, to the emergency room or to an outpatient procedure.  A nurse will perform a risk assessment on the resident when they return to the facility to determine if the resident needs to quarantine.  As part of the risk assessment, a resident’s vaccination status will be considered.  If the resident is not up to date with their vaccinations, a 5 -7 day quarantine, on Transmission Based Precautions (TBPs) will be necessary to ensure that they are not bringing Covid-19 into the facility which could place other residents at risk. The resident may be taken off TBPs if viral testing is negative at 7 days.
     
  2. Social / Family Outing (Out on Pass/OOP) – a resident going out for a family event more than 4 hours (or overnight), or going out of the facility for under 4 hours. A nurse will perform a risk assessment on the resident when they return to the facility to determine if the resident needs to quarantine.  As part of the risk assessment, a resident’s vaccination status will be considered.  If the resident is not up to date with their vaccinations, a 5 -7 day quarantine on TBPs will be necessary to ensure that they are not bringing Covid-19 into the facility which could place other residents and the facility at risk. The resident may be taken off TBPs if viral testing is negative at 7 days.

In addition, the facility will evaluate where the resident was and ultimately what the risk was of that resident contracting Covid-19 while being out of the facility.  The Actors Fund Home understands that these “out trips” to the community are very important for socialization and mental health reasons; but the facility has a responsibility to ensure that the resident that goes out does not bring Covid-19 back to the facility, and place other residents and staff at the facility at risk. 

If it is decided that the resident should be on isolation, the resident will be given a Covid-19 PCR test on the date of returning and again on Day 7.  As soon as the PCR test that is taken on Day 7 comes back as negative, isolation will be discontinued.  Before quarantine ends, the resident will be given a final BD Veritor rapid test to ensure they remain Covid-19 negative.  In the event at any time a resident develops symptoms or the facility is notified that during that out trip they had a direct exposure to someone with Covid-19, the quarantine will be extended to 10 days.    

Other important factors that will be evaluated on the risk assessment is the duration of the out trip by the resident.  If the resident is out for less than 4 hours there is less risk, while if they are out for greater than 4 hours, the risk is higher.  In addition, we will also assess where they were, who they were with in terms of their vaccination status and of course the potential unknowns.

 

Reference:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/long-term-care.html