FHCA Statement in Response to Emergency Rule Requiring Hospitals to Test All Patients Prior to Transfer to a Long Term Care Facility

TALLAHASSEE - In response to recent actions by the Agency for Health Care Administration (Agency) regarding nursing center COVID-19 response and decisions about transferring residents out of facilities, along with the Agency's Emergency Rule 59-AER20-1 requiring hospitals to test all patients before transferring them to a long term care facility, FHCA issued the following statement:

"Florida's nursing centers continue to take unprecedented steps to contain COVID-19. We are restricting visitors and screening staff, and many centers have taken targeted actions to reduce spread, such as creating isolation wings for those who have the virus so they are separated from the other residents and are cared for by dedicated staff who do not interact with anyone else in the building. We recognize this may not be an option for some nursing centers, which is why we continue to guide our members that decisions should be based on the ability to properly care for residents' medical needs as well as the ability to keep both residents and staff safe.

The key to slowing the spread of COVID-19 is adequate and timely testing, since we know the virus can be spread by people who don't show any symptoms. We applaud the Governor for this latest emergency rule requiring hospitals to test all patients before they are transferred to our care centers. This ensures nursing centers will be able to make more informed clinical decisions to prevent further spread. That testing, combined with the support from the National Guard and facilities’ own proactive efforts to ramp up testing, also gives them the ability to quickly determine where resources should be allocated, which will better protect both our residents and our caregivers."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2020

PRESS CONTACT
Kristen Knapp, APR
850-701-3530 or kknapp@fhca.org