Division of Quality Assurance: Notifications & Updates
Attn: Nursing Home and Assisted Living Providers
The State of Wisconsin Board on Aging and Long Term Care (BOALTC) has retracted the Memo dated April 13, 2020. Please see the revised memo COVID-19, Visitation and Long-Term Care Communities dated April 14, 2020.
The version of the BOALTC Memo providing recommendations regarding “window visits” in Long Term Care communities was an attempt to respond to numerous accounts that the Board has received of individuals visiting long-term care residents outside of the windows, yet having contact such as kissing through a screen, hugging through an open window and not maintaining social distancing. This was also in an attempt to respond to concerns for residents with dementia who are confused when visitors they do not know may be looking inside their windows or visiting at nighttime. The intent was not to recommend prohibiting allowed essential activities such as waving to a resident through a closed window or providing care essential to someone’s health and safety. We apologize for any confusion.
People who live in our nursing homes, assisted living communities and the staff and caregivers are at highest risk. When a COVID-19 case occurs in a long-term care setting, the potential for rapid spread can be extremely high and life-threatening. Given the growing public health emergency, the Board is recommending the following:
- Follow the Governor’s Emergency Order #12, “Safer at Home,” and do not leave your long-term care community or your home for anything but essential needs, such as getting groceries and picking up medications. If you are over age 65 or have a chronic health condition, please ask if another person can manage these tasks for you to minimize your time out of your home.
- If you are a resident, please stay where you are. When you go into the community you run an increasingly high risk of bringing COVID-19 back into your long-term care home with you, potentially infecting other vulnerable residents and staff.
Residents still have the right to access the Ombudsman Program with the Board on Aging and Long Term Care by phone at 1-800-815-0015, via e-mail at BOALTC@wisconsin.gov or online at http://longtermcare.wi.gov/.
