As with any admission document, obtaining a resident (and responsible party, where applicable) signature on the document is always preferable. That way, if the resident later argues that he or she did not receive the document or notice, the signature can be used to clearly rebut the argument. While you can still provide a document without a signature to rebut such an argument, a signed document will be more persuasive, particularly in a court proceeding.

However, we also recognize that residents and responsible parties are signing many documents on admission, and often SNFs want to avoid the need for separate signatures on additional documents except for those that are legally required. You may also be concerned about training staff to obtain the signature as part of the admission process. And it may be particularly difficult to obtain signatures during the current crisis (unless you are using a remote admission tool like EAdmit), as responsible parties may not be able to come to the facility to sign documentation. An unsigned document with a blank signature line may be even less persuasive than a document that does not include a signature line.

We suggest thinking about what makes the most sense for your organization and your admission process. If you believe that your staff will be successful in obtaining a signature on the COVID-19 documents, then we recommend going ahead and including the signature line so that you have the best evidence in the event of later litigation. If, however, you are concerned that you will have significant noncompliance in obtaining signatures, we would suggest making the document part of your admission packet without an additional signature.