Last updated November 16, 2021.
Public health order
Public health and executive orders page for Public Health order 20-20 and others.
This order requires all Colorado licensed or certified skilled nursing facilities, intermediate care facilities, and assisted living residences to take a number of steps to help prevent and control outbreaks. Please read the public health order carefully. It requires:
- Facilities should allow for indoor and outdoor visitation at all times and for all residents, regardless of vaccination status, except in certain circumstances as outlined in the General Visitation Guidance. Visitation during an outbreak may be allowed with certain criteria met. Compassionate care visits must be allowed under all circumstances.
- An at-the-door symptom check for all employees, vendors, and visitors before entering the facility.
- At least weekly surveillance testing must be conducted. Visitors may be offered rapid antigen tests upon arrival to the facility; however, proof of a negative test or vaccination status must NOT be a contingency for visitation. Any visitors who test positive at the door must be denied entrance.
- All facilities to submit a COVID-19 Prevention and Response Plan to CDPHE.
- People who have COVID-19 symptoms or positive tests to be isolated.
- Ensuring all residents have access to necessary medical care.
- Facility residents and employees to wear a mask or other face-covering when in public. Employees must wear an appropriate mask at all times when in the facility.
Guidance for residential care facilities
CDPHE guidance and resources:
Setting specific guidance
- Residential Care Facility (RCF) Comprehensive Mitigation Guidance
- Initiating Outbreak Testing in RCF Decision Tree
Testing resources
- CMS Nursing Home COVID-19 Testing FAQs
- CDC Testing Guidelines
- CDC COVID-19 Point of Care Testing Guidance
- CDC Interim Guidelines for Collecting, Handling, and Testing Clinical Specimens for COVID-19.
COVID-19 vaccination
CDPHE Forms and Checklists
COVID-19 screening forms
- Employee health screening form | Español (PDF)
- Visitor health screening tool | Español (PDF)
Outbreak forms
- Fill out the CDPHE COVID-19 outbreak report form and send it to the local public health agency (go here or email the PDF form).
- COVID-19 line list templates | Español (Excel)
CDC guidance
- CDC COVID-19 Guidance for Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Facilities
- CDC Considerations for Preventing Spread of COVID-19 in Assisted Living Facilities
- CDC Core Infection Control Practices that Should Remain in Place Even as Nursing Homes Resume Normal Practices.
- CDC Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic.
CMS guidance
Residential care strike team
In order to reduce the spread of illness and the number of deaths in residential care settings, the state launched a Residential Care Strike Team in late April 2020. The Residential Care Strike Team is composed of representatives of the Governor’s office and state agencies that play a role in regulating and supporting residential care facilities: The Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Human Services (DHS), Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), Department of Public Safety and Regulatory Agencies (DORA). The goal of the Residential Care Strike Team is to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in all high-density environments serving older adults and people with disabilities.
Need assistance?
- CDPHE hosts a bi-weekly virtual technical support meeting. If you would like to sign up to receive occasional infection prevention updates and information to join the technical support meeting please sign up to receive those notifications here: http://eepurl.com/dKuwjQ
- CDPHE call center is available to answer calls from facilities from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Call 303-692-2700 or email cdphe_covid_outbreak@state.co.us After hours, call 303-370-9395.
- Find your local public health agency