Bria of Geneva now open for outdoor visitation

GENEVA – Bria of Geneva, 1101 E. State St., Geneva, has welcomed families back for its first outdoor visits for residents and their relatives since March when the nursing home restricted visitation as part of its COVID-19 response plan, the nursing home company announced in a news release.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, Bria of Geneva has had 24 deaths from coronavirus and an outbreak of 124 confirmed cases.

To allow for outdoor visits, the facility met a set of criteria Bria Health Services developed in consultation with public health authorities to ensure it continues to control the transmission of COVID-19, the release stated.

This includes an extensive testing regimen combined with its COVID-19 task force’s application of advanced infection control protocols.

For the last several weeks, Bria has been monitoring the federal and state guidelines for allowing outdoor visits, Dr. David Hines, a board certified infectious disease expert and co-chair of Bria’s COVID-19 task force, stated in the release.

“Based on our robust testing protocols and infection controls, we feel confident that we can provide for safe visits at facilities that meet our stringent criteria,” Hines stated in the release. “We are very pleased to be able to reunite families who have been waiting for months to visit with their loved ones.”

In order to reopen for outdoor visits, residents and visitors must be COVID-free and not exhibit any COVID-19 symptoms, the release stated.

Visitors must also be screened less than 24 hours in advance of a visit for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention checklist.

The facility will re-screen visitors on arrival and conduct a non-contact temperature check.

Residents will also be screened prior to the visitor’s arrival. Residents and visitors must wear a face covering at all times and are required to stay in designated visit areas, the release stated.

The outdoor visitation area must allow appropriate social distancing of at least six feet between visitors and loved ones and adequate staff must be available to monitor visitation for social distancing requirements and for continually sanitizing the visitation areas, the release stated.

“We are extremely proud of all the hard work our staff have put into devising these plans for safe visits for our residents and their families,” Daniel Weiss, CEO of Bria Health Services, stated in the release. “We know it’s been a long time coming, and we’re overjoyed seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces after so many months apart.”

Bria’s three-phase testing strategy is proving effective in controlling transmission, with baseline testing at all facilities and ongoing surveillance testing for staff and residents in facilities with no current COVID-19 cases.

Moving forward, in cases where COVID-19 is detected, the facility conducts continual retesting until no cases are detected for two sequential rounds over a 28-day period.

For residents who test positive for COVID-19, Bria facilities established isolation units staffed with care teams applying intensive contact and droplet precautions.

Staff in these units are outfitted with and trained on how to wear personal protective equipment and maintain strict entry and exit protocols to the area, the release stated.

At the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, Bria Health Services implemented infection prevention controls and policies that exceeded the recommendations from the CDC and state and local public health departments.

It also formed its COVID-19 task force comprised of infectious disease experts that lead a team of clinicians in implementing procedures and treatments to counteract the spread of coronavirus in its 10-facility network across Illinois and Wisconsin, the release stated.

The task force’s ongoing analysis of local, state and federal regulations and guidance from the latest research in the field ensures Bria is identifying and implementing the best methods to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to continue to enhance treatment outcomes, according to the release.

Bria of Geneva is currently being sued by survivors of six residents who died of the coronavirus, alleging the facility management's negligence in the face of the pandemic.

Bria has responded to the lawsuits, stating that they are baseless.