STATE NEWS | The Tennessee Department of Health announced on Wednesday that they would be lifting visitation restrictions for long-term care facilities effective Sunday, February 28, according to a press release.

TDH officials stated that they are making the move now that a sufficient number of nursing home residents and staff have received COVID-19 vaccinations. According to state, 100 percent of Tennessee’s nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities have completed both doses of COVID-19 vaccinations, and Tennessee’s assisted care living facilities and residential homes for the aged are projected to be completed this week.

“The health and safety of vulnerable Tennesseans, especially our long-term care residents, remains our top priority, and our comprehensive and persistent efforts to protect this population from COVID-19 have saved lives,” said Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP. “Now that vaccinations at all long-term care facilities are nearing completion, we are ready to transition to a more sustainable approach of following these best practices for safe operation of long-term care facilities in Tennessee.”

Moving forward, the state says that facilities should use the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services guidance for safe operation and visitation with limited visitation restrictions no longer in place at the state level.

Those guidelines state that nursing homes may allow indoor visitation when there has been no new onset of COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days and the facility is not currently conducting outbreak testing. According to the state’s reporting website, officials at Lynchburg Nursing Center have not reported a new COVID-19 case since January 26 – more than 24 days ago.

If you have questions about potential visitation at Lynchburg Nursing Center, call them at 931-759-6000. •

{The Lynchburg Times is an independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}