Continuing the Crook County News Since 1884
As the pandemic once again gathers speed across Wyoming and Crook County experiences an uptick in COVID-19 cases, Crook County Medical Services District has made the difficult decision to once again close down visitation to the long-term care facility.
Some of the county’s most vulnerable citizens reside within the LTC, which means it’s particularly important to take safety measures when the risk of infection increases.
Interim CEO Micki Lyons informed the board of trustees last week that the numbers prompted a review of whether non-residents should be admitted into the facility.
“We haven’t jumped significantly, but for our fairly small county we’ve taken a significant jump,” she said. For this reason, she announced, “We have again shut down visitation in the nursing home until this clears up a bit.”
According to Lyons, this decision will be revisited on a regular basis.
“We are making a decision weekly on LTC visitation depending on the current COVID-19 spread,” she says. “This decision will be made on Tuesdays after our weekly COVID-19 meeting and relayed to all residents’ families.”
In the meantime, it will still be possible to make contact with residents through online Zoom meetings, Lyons says. Families should contact the LTC for more details and to make a request.
The state is no longer requiring nursing homes to test their residents, Lyons said, but all staff members must be tested every month. New federal and state guidance is being issued that will change how visitation occurs, she said, and the district will need to balance these loosened restrictions with the uptick in cases when the time comes to once again allow visitation.
Protocols such as mask usage are still being followed in the rest of the hospital facility, Lyons told the board. The district is now employing rapid COVID-19 tests in all cases of possible infection, though tests that require a longer wait for results are still being used for less urgent needs, such as when a person is required to take a test before traveling.