Attn: Community-Based Residential Facilities and Licensed Adult Family Homes (3-4 beds)
Wisconsin to Support COVID-19 Testing to a Number of Community-Based Residential Facilities (CBRFs) and Licensed Adult Family Homes (AFHs) (3-4 beds)
The State of Wisconsin COVID-19 Testing Team is happy to announce the ability to begin supporting voluntary, routine (every 14 days) COVID-19 surveillance testing to a number of Community-Based Residential Facilities (CBRFs) and Licensed Adult Family Homes (AFHs) (3-4 beds) as prioritized below. This is a voluntary, opt-in program that will be offered in multiple phases to facilities that have the capability to conduct their own specimen collection and result notification.
The program targets CBRFs and 3-4 bed AFHs, especially those that provide services to ambulatory and non-ambulatory residents with intellectual disabilities (ID), Alzheimer’s disease/dementia, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or advanced age (AA), with emphasis on CBRFs and AFHs that have been, or are currently in outbreak status.
This program will also pilot new testing capabilities in early January that includes at-home PCR (polymerase chain reaction) swab collection kits provided by one of the contracted state laboratories (Fulgent). Based on current testing capacities, routine testing is limited to designated CBRFs and AFHs at this time. Testing may be extended to Residential Care Apartment Complexes (RCAC) at a later date, if capacity allows.
Outbreak testing will still be provided to all Assisted Living Facilities upon request, including RCACs. The phased routine testing program for CBRFs and AFHs will commence as follows:
Plan Summary
Expand routine testing in higher-acuity Assisted Living Facilities:
- 3-4 bed AFHs: Test all residents and staff of 3-4 bed AFHs every 14 days.
- CBRFs: Test CBRF staff every 14 days and any symptomatic residents.
Phase 1 (immediate): The testing outreach team will offer routine, follow-up testing to all CBRFs and AFHs who are currently in outbreak testing with a state-sponsored lab. These facilities can choose to opt in to state-supported, routine testing every 14 days as noted above when their outbreak ends. Outbreak testing will continue to be supported.
Phase 2 (immediate): The testing outreach team will offer all CBRFs and AFHs who have previously been in outbreak and have an established testing relationship with a state-sponsored lab the opportunity to opt in to state-sponsored, routine testing every 14 days.
Phase 3 (commence first week of January): The testing outreach team will offer medium (9-20 residents) and large (>21 residents) CBRFs that provide services to non-ambulatory residents with an intellectual disability (ID), Alzheimer’s disease/dementia, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or advanced age (AA) that have not had an outbreak and do not have a state-sponsored lab relationship established to opt in to routine testing (every 14 days) with a state-sponsored lab.
Phase 4 (commence first week of January): The testing outreach team will conduct a small pilot of the Fulgent Laboratory at-home swab collection kits for routine PCR testing to determine the suitability of these kits for assisted living facilities. The State COVID-19 Testing Team, in consultation with the Division of Quality Assurance/Bureau of Assisted Living, will select 10-20 facility pilot program made up of small (5-8 residents) CBRFs and AFHs (serving non-ambulatory individuals with an intellectual disability, Alzheimer’s disease/dementia, TBI, and/or AA). This pilot would, if successful, expand the use of these tests in mid-January to other similar facilities.
Please note: The COVID-19 Testing Team will be in contact with facilities related to this expanded testing effort. This outreach may take place after the holidays due to limited personnel availability during the holiday season. There is no need for facilities to do anything or request additional testing until contacted by our testing outreach team.
Thank you for your continued efforts and support. Please submit questions to WICOVIDTEST@Wisconsin.gov
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