The County of Santa Cruz Public Health Division has completed assessments of local skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes to prevent the spread of contagious COVID-19.
“The success of our local COVID-19 response is dependent on the readiness of our healthcare facilities,” says Michelle Meszaros, the lead Public Health nurse for the skilled nursing facility assessments.
Outbreaks of COVID-19 and fatalities have occurred at nursing homes in California and long-term care facilities in Washington State as medically-vulnerable individuals living in close quarters are at higher risk.
On March 20, Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel issued a no-visitation order at residential health care facilities throughout Santa Cruz County. The order has since been extended indefinitely and covers all visitation other than end-of-life situations.
In early April, Public Health developed a seven-member team of Communicable Disease Unit staff to coordinated and complete on-site assessments of each of the seven skilled nursing facilities in Santa Cruz County.
This team worked with skilled-nursing staff on reviewing the facility’s capacity for isolation and quarantine of residents, reviewing their process for managing staff and/or residents with COVID-19, and ensuring each facility had policies in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.