During Pandemic Family Visitation Plummets While Home Health and Hospice Visits Remain Consistent

Care levels at senior living and skilled nursing facilities during the pandemic’s peak remained consistent even as family visitation levels plummeted, according to data on 127 million visitor sign-ins provided by Accushield, the leading developer of healthcare-focused sign-in and health screening kiosks. Over 6,000 senior living, skilled nursing and other healthcare facilities in the United States and Canada are using the Accushield kiosks to sign in and screen visitors and third-party care providers. The visitor data collected at the kiosk showed the number of family visits fell dramatically, by 80 to 85 percent in the first five months of the pandemic and 75 percent through the remainder of the first year. However, visits by third-party care providers, such as home health, home care and hospice providers, remained steady through those same months, the Accushield data reveals. The information was collected by Accushield’s tablet-based kiosk, which streamlines the sign-in and health screening process for all visitors, staff, third-party caregivers, and vendors who enter and exit the building. “We knew that the pandemic would solidify the importance of a robust third-party care provider sign-in and screening process,” said Charles Mann, Accushield’s co-founder and chief sales officer. “Third-party care has become and will continue to be a vital part of Senior Living and Skilled Nursing operation. Because of this, management needs an easy way to collect, manage, sort, and report third-party caregiver data to create and maintain accurate resident care plans.” “We were pleasantly surprised and happy to learn that third-party residents’ care visits did not suffer during the pandemic,” said Mann. “This is great news.” The Accushield sign-in and health screening kiosk has proven valuable to senior living communities (SL), skilled nursing facilities (SNF), hospitals, and other healthcare facilities during the pandemic. Without adding to staff work, the tablet sign-in system allows facility managers to know who is in the building at all times, as well as such crucial information as each visitor’s health status.  The Accushield system also can provide valuable data-driven insights for directors.  Among the major findings from the Accushield kiosk data:

Despite expectations that third-party care visits would have declined, as did family visitors, the rate remained generally stable throughout 2020 and 2021. December 2021 marked the first time in 21 months that Accushield kiosks recorded pre-COVID family visitation rates comparable to pre-pandemic rates. A slow and steady increase in family visits began last spring and continued rising, correlating with an increase in the overall number of vaccinated people. This number is deceptively important, as residents’ well-being benefits from social visits. SL and SNF residents were isolated for many months during the pandemic.

The Accushield sign-in and health screening kiosk was designed by Executive Directors to help Senior Living Communities, Nursing Homes, Hospitals, and Healthcare Facilities know who is in their buildings, enabling the creation of a safer and healthier environment. Accushield’s tablet-based kiosk replaces the manual paper logbooks with a streamlined sign-in and health screening process for all visitors, staff, third-party caregivers, and residents who enter and exit the building. About Accushield Founded in 2013, Accushield® is the leading developer of sign-in and health screening kiosks for skilled nursing facilities, senior living communities, hospitals, and other healthcare-related institutions. Executive Directors and Healthcare Administrators designed the Accushield solution to help them know who is in their buildings. The tablet-based kiosk and mobile app facilitate a safer, healthier, and more streamlined sign-in process for visitors, staff, third-party caregivers, and residents in over 6,000 healthcare facilities. With the adoption in November by Foundation Health Partners, a skilled nursing facility in Fairbanks, Alaska, Accushield now manages installations in all 50 states across the United States. To learn more, visit www.accushield.com. For More information To learn more, visit https://www.accushield.comMedia ContactSavannah Muir [email protected] Source: Accushield