Covid-19, Infection Control and Assisted Living
In this time of COVID-19, no care home is immune to the risk of the spread of viruses. Recently, in the news are articles about COVID-19 spreading in skilled nursing homes but other long-term care settings including: assisted living, retirement homes or small 4-6 bed residential board and care homes, also need to be vigilant about making sure their residents do not get infected. This includes following state guidelines about assisted living and COVID-19, putting into place precautionary measures and working with medical professionals that can teach staff how to minimize the risk of spread of the virus.
In California, there are more than 7,500 assisted living homes. Of these, 5,800 are small residential board and care homes that usually accept 4-6 residents. In Los Angeles County, which has more assisted living homes than any other county in Los Angeles, there are more than 1,430 assisted living homes and, of these, 1,149 are small 4-6 bed residential board and care homes.
The California Assisted Living Association publishes a COVID-19 guideline compiling the CDC and WHO recommendations for assisted living homes (retirement homes), residential board and care and Alzheimer’s homes. The guideline provides advice on taking temperature of residents, personal hygiene techniques, limiting visitors, screening staff and visitors, environmental cleaning, encouraging good respiratory etiquette, maintaining a visitor log for COVID-19 screenings, protocols for move-ins and returning residents, activities and group outings.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also publishes a guide for preventing the spread of COVID-19 independent, retirement, long-term care and assisted living homes.
To help assisted living providers in cases where a resident test positive for COVID-19, California should implement “strike teams, like they are currently implementing in Florida, which consists of a nurse, epidemiologist, infection control specialist, and a representative from Community Care Licensing, the state agency which licenses assisted living homes.
While state and federal systems gear up to tackle COVID-19, the CDC, CMS and the California Department of Health should consider extending emergency funding to assisted living and residential board and care homes to allow care settings to put into place measures the minimize the risk of COVID-19 spreading among their residents and the correct protocols implement should a resident have COVID-19.
All assisted living homes are licensed by state Community Care Licensing Offices which serve the following cities:
Communities in Los Angeles and surrounding counties encompass:
Southern area (Torrance, Rancho Palos Verdes, Carson, Lakewood, Hawthorne, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Long Beach, Lawndale, Cerritos, Long Beach, Gardena, San Pedro, Lawndale, Bellflower, Norwalk, Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Compton, Lomita, Palos Verdes Estates, La Mirada, Whittier, La Habra, etc).
San Gabriel Valley area (Azusa, Pasadena, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, La Canada, Flintridge, Altadena, Glendale, West Covina, Claremont, Covina, Diamond Bar, Pomona, La Puente, Duarte, Glendora, Walnut, Alhambra, San Gabriel, San Dimas, Montebello, Rosemead, El Monte, etc).
San Fernando Valley area (Woodland Hills, Encino, Tarzana, Sherman Oaks, Valley Village, Northridge, Canoga Park, Calabasas, West Hills, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Chatsworth, North Hills, Arleta, Mission Hills, Granada Hills, Studio City, Reseda, La Canada, Crescent Heights, etc).
Westside (Santa Monica, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Mar Vista, Westwood, Fairfax area, Pacific Palisades, Bel Air, Inglewood, Westchester, Venice, etc.).
Northern (Lancaster, Palmdale, Valencia, Newhall, Saugus, Canyon Country, etc.).
Coastal Region: (Ventura County, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Ojai, Westlake, Simi Valley, Santa Barbara, Newhall, etc.).
San Bernardino/Riverside Office: (Alta Loma, Upland, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Pomona, San Bernardino, Chino, Montclair, Chino Hills, Ontario, etc.).
Orange County Office:(Orange, Anaheim, Tustin, Buena Park, Westminster, Anaheim Hills, Fountain Valley, La Habra, Newport Beach, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Lake Forest, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo, Irvine, Dana Point, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos, Laguna Hills, Yorba Linda, Laguna Niguel, Brea, etc.).