MDHHS Issues Amendment to May 2021 Requirements for Residential Care Facilities Epidemic Order (SNF/AL)
An October 4, 2022, amendment (October 4, 2022 – Amendment to Order under MCL 333.2253 Requirements for Residential Care Facilities) aligns Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) orders with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic [Revised September 23, 2022].
Key impacts of the October 4, 2022, amendment include:
- Removing the requirement for Non-nursing Home Residential Care facilities* from the duty to comply with CMS guidance QSO-20-39-NH;
- Removing references to communal dining requirements;
- Adjusting residential care facility obligations to provide notice of COVID-19 cases;
- Maintaining residential care facility obligations to report COVID-19 surveillance data to the Local Health Department and as instructed by MDHHS: Please note: (1) Nursing Homes must comply with Provider Letter L 21-33 dated 4/29/21 and (2) Adult Foster Care and Home for the Aged facilities licensed for 13 or more residents must comply with Joint Letter issued by MDHHS and LARA dated 04/29/21.
Non-nursing Home Residential Care Facilities* should follow recommendations in Section 3 of CDC’s guidance for “Assisted Living, Group Homes and Other Residential Care Settings.” Healthcare personnel who enter the setting to provide healthcare to one or more residents (e.g., physical therapy, wound care, intravenous injections, or catheter care provided by home health agency nurses) should follow the healthcare IPC recommendations in CDC’s guidance.
*As previously defined in the May 21, 2021 – Requirements for Residential Care Facilities Epidemic Order; Residential Care Facilities means nursing home, home for the aged, adult foster care facility, hospice facility, substance use disorder residential facility, or assisted living facility. It does not include independent living facilities). Reference to “non-nursing-home residential care facilities” includes home for the aged, adult foster care facility, hospice facility, substance use disorder residential facility, and assisted living facility.