Restrictions on Items Coming into Community for Both Resident Family Members and Focused Care Team Members

(Fort Worth, Texas) – Focused Post Acute Care Partners (FPACP), a Texas-based skilled nursing care company with 31 communities largely in rural and small towns in east and west Texas and along the Gulf Coast, updated its protocols Monday, March 30 to address the Coronavirus.

The new directives are as follows:

• Residents coming from the hospital must be quarantined for 14 days in a room, or wing/hall to be monitored for symptoms and must be away from general population. This policy applies to new and returning patients.
• If a quarantined resident begins to show symptoms, he/she will be isolated and staff must wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
• Families may not bring items into the Focused Care community.
• Families may provide funds to staff to purchase items directly.
• Team members must keep any items brought into the community in a designated area.

Prior to the new directives, Focused Care announced on March 13 that it was limiting visitation from non-essential individuals and postponing group activities including communal dining as well as enforcing previous protocols announced prior on infection prevention per guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Stepped up prevention efforts to stop the spread of the virus were released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency overseeing the regulation of skilled nursing facilities, and vigorously supported by Texas Governor Abbott in a press conference declaring a state of emergency in response to the pandemic. The updated guidelines are in line with recommendations previously released by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and supported by the Texas Health Care Association (THCA) for all Texas long term care communities.

Focused Care founder and CEO Mark McKenzie reiterated the company’s commitment to keeping the connection between family members and residents during the necessary response to COVID-19. “We understand that connecting with family members is incredibly important, and there are a variety of other ways we ask family to consider connecting with residents including telephone and text, email and Skype or Facebook,” said McKenzie. “We remain focused on patient-centered care, the health of our team members and the residents in whose care we are trusted.”

For Focused Care’s statement to the media, click here.