Association Executive Directors Community

Dear Association Executives - We wanted to share with you updated information on COVID-19 recommendations for masks in residential treatment programs.

Recently we have received inquiries about what the current recommendations are regarding mask use in residential treatment programs. National Council Medical Director Dr Parks conferred with the infection control experts of our partner, The Joint Commission. Since there is not current CDC guidance specific to either substance use disorder or mental illness treatment residential centers they advised following the CDC guidance for Nursing Homes

The CDC NH guidance is part of CDC current guidance for healthcare facilities found at (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control-recommendations.html). It states:

• Residents who are up to date with all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses in Nursing Homes in Areas of Low to Moderate Transmission:
• Nursing homes are healthcare settings, but they also serve as a home for long-stay residents and quality of life should be balanced with risks for transmission. In light of this, consideration could be given to allowing residents who are up to date with all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses to not use source control when in communal areas of the facility; however, residents at increased risk for severe disease should still consider continuing to practice physical distancing and use of source control

CDC guidance for healthcare facilities varies by the rate of COVID transmission in the county where the facility is located. Most counties are currently at low or moderate COVID-19 transmission rates. To determine if your organization is within an area of low to moderate transmission, the following link should be accessed: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk

 The CDC is still recommending that staff wear masks even in low/moderate transmission areas.

Additional resources provided by the CDC (although do not address the issue of residents masking) include: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/long-term-care.html

Please feel free to share this information with your members. Please also do not hesitate to let us know if you have questions or if additional information would be helpful.

 

 

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Neal Comstock
Director of Membership
National Council
NealC@TheNationalCouncil.org
202 748-8793
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