PROVIDENCE – While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered updated guidance this week, dropping its recommended time for asymptomatic people to isolate after getting COVID-19 from 10 days to five days, the Providence VA Medical Center said it’s sticking with a lengthier quarantine policy for its employees.
“We take care of people who are vulnerable,” said Dr. Annmarie Dunican, chief of staff for the VA Providence Healthcare System. “The health care workers really have to be much more careful. … The last thing we would want is for us to transmit the virus to a patient. We won’t adopt the five days at this point unless we see more data that supports that.”
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said that the updated guidance is “based on science,” and will allow for “essential” workers to get back on the job more quickly, to “keep our society running smoothly” while still keeping the country safe.
Dunican said the new CDC guidance is “somewhat controversial,” and it relies on employees to wear masks after returning to the job following the five days, although masks need to be “really good-fitting” N95 masks that aren’t always available or used correctly.
“We’re not in a position that we have to take any of those chances,” she said.
Some Rhode Island medical experts such as Dr. Megan Ranney, emergency physician and associate dean at Brown University School of Public Health, cautioned that the new guidance may be confusing and should have required negative tests after the five-day period. Raney said the guidance appears motivated by economic concerns, and is “partially” backed by scientific studies.
With a total staff of 1,700 employees, Dunican said the Providence VA requires anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 to quarantine for seven days after a positive test, and then get tested again to confirm full recovery.
The decision to stick with its current quarantine policy comes amid restrictions on visitations at the Providence VA Medical Center. Larry Connell, director of the Veterans Administration Providence Health Care System, said visitors generally have not been allowed since around Thanksgiving. However, he said, the VA hospital will revisit the policy in late January and could start allowing visitors again if the COVID-19 situation improves in Rhode Island following the arrival of the omicron variant.
“I don’t want to give a firm answer on that because it’s going to be situation dependent,” Connell said. “If we see a huge drop (in COVID cases) … we’ll adjust that visitation policy.”
The Providence VA Medical Center does allow for exceptions to the policy in end-of-life situations, Connell said.
“If we have a veteran in the end-of-life stages, we’ll certainly make an exception for that family to come in and see their loved ones,” he said.
The Providence VA Medical Center has 73 staffed beds, Connell said. Of those, 63 are currently filled, with about five patients now being treated for COVID-19 infections, he said. Staff are required to be vaccinated, Connell said, and any veteran who needs a vaccination can come to the 830 Chalkstone Ave. facility with no appointment necessary to get their COVID-19 vaccination or flu shots.
“Many of our COVID rooms are negative (air) pressure rooms,” Connell said. “That helps prevent the spread of the virus as well.”
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter @LaRockPBN.
