NHC HealthCare Oakwood
COVID-19 Update from NHC HealthCare Oakwood
We would like to recognize our incredible partners (employees) for providing excellent care and compassion to our patients and each other during these unprecedented times. Thank you to our families and community members for your kind words and outpouring of support to our patients and our partners. We appreciate you!
CMS now requires us to notify the families of our skilled nursing patients via our website of status changes including when a confirmed infection of COVID-19 is identified, or whenever 3 or more residents or staff with new onset of respiratory symptoms within 72 hours of each other are under investigation. Please check out the new notification dashboard below.
We report all positive confirmations of patients and partners (employees) directly to the local and state departments of health. Active positive patients are supported in identified “transitional areas” in designated centers with dedicated team members equipped with proper personal protective equipment. All infection control protocols per CDC and CMS are followed extensively. We follow CDC guidelines in handling positive COVID-19 partners (employees).
Precautions: We continue to follow infection control guidelines from the CDC and CMS, including proper hand-washing techniques, extensive environmental services, social distancing, and wearing appropriate personal protective equipment. We will follow our standard procedures and notify you if your loved one has a change in condition. We continue to screen partners and actively take temperatures.
Visitation in Tennessee Centers
Governor Lee has announced limited visitation may start if certain requirements are in place on June 15th. We do not have the specific requirements from the state yet. Once we receive the official guidance, we will review to make plans on how to meet these new protocols to appropriately protect your loved ones. We appreciate your patience as we go through the planning stages. Here are some key items the Governor shared as prerequisites prior to considering limited visitation:
- Testing of all staff and residents at least once, and compliance with applicable regulations regarding weekly staff re-testing
- No new COVID-19 case in patients or staff members in the previous 28 days
- Compliant with Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities regulations and infection control guidelines
- Overall stability of the disease burden present in the community where the facility is located.
Our weekly testing of staff is scheduled to begin prior to the end of the month to meet the state’s deadline of June 30th. Due to this prerequisite requirement, our visitation plan will not be able to begin until early July pending no positive test results or community stability with COVID-19 per the state.
We anticipate the state guidance will require the below:
- scheduling appointments with limited duration
- limitations on the number of visitors per patient
- limitations on the total number of visitors to our center
- If a center receives a positive confirmation, then limited visitation will be suspended until the time requirement per the state has completed.
Once we verify all the logistics and new processes needed for these requirements, we will email you and update the center website to keep you updated on the start date. Our team is committed to keeping you connected with your loved one so please let us know if you would like to schedule a virtual visit or phone call. Virtual visitation continues to be the encouraged method of connection by CMS and the Center for Disease Control.
Dashboard Reporting: This notification dashboard reflects the data as of midnight the prior day. It’s updated by 5:00 pm the next day after results are received.
The tracking of the Point Prevalence Testing (mass testing of all patients and employees) will not be reflected in the Number of Patients or Number of Employees Under Investigation columns, as mass testing does not meet the definition from CDC for Persons Under Investigation. Any positives resulting from the mass testing will be reflected in the numbers appropriately.
National HealthCare Corporation
100 East Vine Street
Murfreesboro, TN 37130
P: (615) 890-2020
