My wife is an SLP and works at a skilled nursing facility. They have recently had their first positive cases of COVID. She is having to evaluate each of the new positive COVID patients, some are pretty sick and so they obviously had cognitive decline due to actively having the virus.

With the obvious cognitive decline they quality for treatment. So the question is, has anyone treated or heard of facilities providing dys****ia, swallowing, and speech therapy while a patient is actively sick with COVID? How is this done? Should this treatment even be provided while patients are actively Ill with COVID?

Absolutely should be provided and expected. I am familiar with multiple SNFs, LTACs and actue care that are treating these patients with SLP, OT, and PT. Just because someone has COVID does not mean they should not receive appropriate services. PPE should be provided and use of course.

My speech therapist wears a mask and a face shield with all patient care due to the proximity of her to the patients that she treats in the hospital and in outpatient.

If the patient is cognitively able, I have provided her an extra mask for her to provide the patient in outpatient for an extra layer of protection in the event of coughing and sputtering while eating or practicing their exercises.

In the hospital, the patient is typically in the bed and she stands strategically off to the side since they are likely in the bed or in a chair and ensure "her nose is always pointed at the patient" to use the face mask in its full capacity. This is all under the premise that the patient is not on an aerosolying agent and "just on droplet" isolation.