As if the great RCFE Certification from the State of California wasn’t strict enough, it’s about to get even tougher. Why do you ask? Well, you can probably figure it out without us explaining it to you, but for everyone not in the industry yet, let’s spend a few moments discussing it.
We all know that the coronavirus has hit retirement communities, nursing homes, nursing homes, and residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) hard. In New York, nearly 25% of all coronavirus deaths occurred in a nursing home. In Kirkland, WA, we saw that almost 30% of the elderly in one of the facilities died from the coronavirus. In California, even with our strict adherence to virus protocols, the coronavirus managed to reach a large number of certified RCFEs.
Once the virus enters and infects both residents and staff, it spreads rapidly, often before anyone detects it, and by the time symptoms appear, it’s too late: there are so many infected that it can also turn the facility into a covid. -19 hospitals. Those who oversee the RCFE Certification regulations are getting a lot of attention now from state legislators who want answers and want to know how we are going to prevent something like this from happening in the future.
Fortunately, regulators are working with RCFE Industry to create new rules, procedures and protocols. There is already a team working on ways to detect the spread of the virus, this virus or any other, early on with rapid tests. In the future, the RCFE will be the first to be alerted and therefore will be able to act quickly to prevent such a calamity. There is no question that RCFEs will be required to have test kits, PPE and other equipment on hand for rapid deployment.
RCFE Certification will be more difficult to achieve in the future, and there will be more rules and regulations, and added cost and time to comply. Some in our industry believe that California is among the toughest states for RCFE certification, which is quite true, but we can expect things to get even tougher because of what happened. Although there have been some mistakes made along the way by RCFE operators, state regulatory health authorities and even politicians, this is not the time to place blame.
Our industry has a lot of work ahead of us, we must rise to the occasion and continue our mission, press on against adversity and emerge stronger than ever. We will, we must, and we are up for the challenge. Let us help you with your RCFE Certification, let’s be cool and protect our most vulnerable from any future virus.