In-person visits at Westmoreland Manor expected to resume soon

Westmoreland Manor could begin in-person visits with residents within weeks even as coronavirus cases continue to pop up among residents and staff at the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield.

Officials said Thursday that one additional case was reported and there are three active coronavirus infections among residents at the 403-bed facility. One staff member is off work after having been diagnosed with the virus, according to statement issued by Manor Administrator Abby Testa.

Despite the new cases, plans to reinstate contact visits, which were halted in March 2020 at the onset on the pandemic, are ongoing.

County Commissioner Gina Cerilli said the Manor received revised visitation guidelines earlier this week from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that allow for in-person visits and the county is awaiting approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Those guidelines allow for contact visits in jurisdictions where the positivity rate for new coronavirus infections is less than 10% and at facilities in which at least 70% of residents have been vaccinated.

Testa said 85% of Manor residents have received vaccinations. The county has a positivity rate of 6.2%, according to the state health department.

Residents and family members for several weeks have been able to visit while separated by a window and are able to hold hands through a plastic sheet.

“It has been very emotional for residents and families that have not been able to touch their loved ones for a whole year. Outside and inside visits will be announced under new guidelines within the next two weeks,” Cerilli said.

A plan to create outside visits under a tent near the Manor’s parking lot was expected to be implemented in September, just before a major coronavirus outbreak at the facility. It dragged on for months and resulted in the deaths of 10 residents. To date, 183 residents and 101 Manor employees have tested positive for the virus over the last year with most coming since September. Just four new positive cases have been reported since late January.

New guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — or CMS — allows nursing home residents who have been vaccinated to visit indoors with loved ones.

Covid cases and deaths among nursing home residents have dropped sharply over the last few weeks as vaccinations have increased, the Associated Press reported. People living in long-term care facilities represent about 1% of the U.S. population, but they have account for about a third of all covid-related deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

With a ban on indoor visits at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in effect for almost a year, the resulting loneliness contributed to physical as well as mental decline of residents, government officials acknowledge.

“There is no substitute for physical contact, such as the warm embrace between a resident and their loved one,” CMS said in its new guidance issued Wednesday, “Therefore, if the resident is fully vaccinated, they can choose to have close contact (including touch) with their visitor while wearing a well-fitting face mask and performing hand-hygiene before and after.”

Still, precautions such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizer remain in place. Maintaining social distancing of at least 6 feet remains the safest policy, CMS said. And, when possible, outdoor visits are preferable even when residents and visitors have been vaccinated.

John Dickson, CEO and president at Redstone Highlands in Greensburg, said he expects visitation to begin next week at the company’s 77-bed nursing home.

“There will be great joy,” he said. “We’ve had folks who haven’t seen each other for a year.”