Senior living advocates in Oregon are greeting the state’s dropping of mask mandates in healthcare settings with relief, saying that it could lead to improved resident and staff satisfaction as well as increased interest in the profession by prospective employees.
The state joins others that have listed their mask mandates.
The Oregon Health Authority this week rescinded a 2021 order requiring workers in healthcare settings, including senior living settings, to wear masks. The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration followed suit in suspending all of its COVID-19-related rules. Both announcements were effective Monday.
With the announcements, Oregon joins a growing number of states — including New Jersey and California — in dropping some pandemic-era requirements in anticipation of the COVID-19 national emergency and the public health emergency ending May 11.
An OHA spokesman told McKnight’s Senior Living that some healthcare settings may continue to require masking, and some settings supported by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services also still may have mask requirements in place.
“Our members have overwhelmingly expressed that dropping the mandate is a relief for staff and residents, particularly those in memory care settings who have longed to see full faces and smiles again,” LeadingAge Oregon CEO Kristin Milligan told McKnight’s Senior Living. “Providers can choose to implement masking policies within their communities, and we are elated those decisions can be made on a community-by-community basis.”
Similarly, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Health Care Association told McKnight’s Senior Living that it supported the changes now that the public health risk from COVID-19 is greatly reduced for long-term care residents thanks to vaccines and boosters.
“For community-based care settings, which are designed to be home-like environments, the dropping of the mask requirement is especially good news,” OHCA spokeswoman Rosie Ward said. “It is important for the well-being of residents to be able to see their caregivers’ faces and sometimes even to be able to read their lips.”
Ward added that OHCA hopes that lifting the mask requirement will help attract workers back to the profession.
Last month, the OHA announced that it no longer would require masking by workers, residents, patients and visitors in healthcare settings, including senior living and other long-term care settings. The decision to end statewide healthcare masking requirements aligned with decisions in other states, including Washington, which also dropped its mask order in long-term care and healthcare settings effective Monday.
Lifting Oregon’s healthcare masking requirement stemmed from data in recent weeks showing an overall decrease in circulation of the three respiratory pathogens that triggered a surge in emergency department visits and intensive care unit hospitalizations last fall, Dean Sidelinger, MD, OHA health officer and state epidemiologist, said in a statement.
March 30, in alignment with OHA’s announcement, Oregon OSHA suspended all of its COVID-19-related rules effective April 3. The agency stated that suspending the rules to align with the OHA decision will prevent conflicting guidance and stakeholder confusion on which rules to follow.
Oregon OSHA said it was retaining the ability for employees to wear facial coverings if they choose, but that employers no longer would be responsible for providing masks to employees. If employers require masking, then they must supply the masks at no cost to employees.
The agency indicated that it expects to move forward with repeal of the requirement through the permanent rulemaking process soon.
