We are so happy to announce that visitors are allowed, once again, at Encore. The following visitation policy guidelines are established in compliance with Governor DeSantis’s Executive Order 20-009 lifting the ban on visitation in long-term care communities and his update to that order made on October 22, 2020. This is a significant step forward in achieving our shared goal of reuniting residents with their loved ones. We know that families are anxious and looking forward to wrapping their arms around their loved ones. We also know the importance of returning Encore to a place that residents know as their home, where they can freely visit with their families, volunteers are welcome into the building once again, and they can go to the hair salon  – all things that contribute to their quality of life.

We are constantly in a balancing act of keeping the residents safe and allowing for socialization, visitation, and resident engagement. Introducing safe family visitation is the first step in striking an important balance between resident engagement and keeping the residents safe and protected from the coronavirus, which has been our number one priority since the pandemic began.

Our Visitation Policy is as follows

• Visiting hours are no longer restricted nor are the number of weekly visits a resident can receive.
• Visitor temperature checks and a symptom/exposure screening questionnaire is to be completed by all visitors before access is granted.
• Encore is still operating under the Governor’s Executive Order mandating mask-wearing for health care facilities. It is essential that all visitors wear masks throughout the visit.
• Visitors cannot congregate in resident common areas when other residents are present, such as at mealtime or during group activities.
• Indoor visitation will be suspended if there is a confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 within the facility.

Special visitation provisions can be made for visitation by essential caregivers and compassionate caregivers. The definition of these two types of caregivers is below:

Essential caregivers are those who have been given consent by the resident or his or her representative to provide services and/or assistance with activities of daily living to help maintain or improve the quality of care or quality of life for a resident.  Essential caregivers are those who have provided care and services before the pandemic and those who request to continue to provide these services.  Care or services provided by an essential caregiver must be identified in an addendum to the resident’s Service Plan and may include bathing, dressing, eating, and/or emotional support.

Compassionate caregivers provide emotional support to help a resident deal with a difficult transition or loss, upsetting event, or end-of-life. Compassionate caregivers may be allowed entry to the facility on a limited basis for these specific purposes. Other than end-of-life situations, a resident may be visited by one such visitor at a time.

Essential caregiver visitation and compassionate caregiver visitation needs to be arranged through the Director of Nursing or the Administrator.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Kimberly Edwards
Director of Healthcare Operations,
Avalon Park Group