On Oct. 23, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released revised recommendations for hospital visitors and support person policies in All Facilities Letter (AFL) 20-38.5.
CDPH recommends that health facilities, including hospitals, in red, orange, and yellow tier counties under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy framework allow one visitor per patient at a time. These are not requirements, but rather recommendations.
Also on Oct. 23, CDPH released AFL 20-22.5, which updates the agency’s visitation guidance for skilled-nursing facilities to align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ QSO-20-39-NH. This includes skilled-nursing facility requirements to facilitate visitation of residents.