County to begin accepting applications for its Five-Star Recovery Partner Program
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has approved Arapahoe County’s application for a public health order variance that will enable the County to launch its Five-Star Recovery Partner Program. Businesses that are interested in participating can begin applying on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, at arapahoegov.com/fivestar. Inspections are expected to begin the week of January 4, 2021. The variance means that approved Five-Star businesses will be able to operate at capacities one level higher than the County’s position on the statewide COVID dial.
CDPHE granted the request after reviewing Arapahoe County’s recent case data, which shows that COVID case incidence and positivity rates, along with hospitalization rates, have continually decreased over the past two weeks. CDPHE will review all metrics within 14 days to confirm continued participation in the program. If Arapahoe County sees a significant rise in cases, percent positivity, or hospitalizations, CDPHE may suspend the program certification, and the program will be automatically suspended if the ICU hospital capacity reaches 90% in the County.
“We’re pleased that our COVID case numbers have decreased enough to enable Arapahoe County to be granted the variance that will allow us to launch the Five-Star program while the County is in the Red Dial Position,” said Nancy N. Sharpe, Arapahoe County Board Chair. “This will provide a consistent method for reopening area businesses in a way that will help them earn more revenue and get their employees back to work, while also helping their customers and our communities control the spread of COVID-19.”
How It Works
The Five-Star Recovery Partner Program is voluntary and open to all eligible businesses within Arapahoe County. Businesses are ineligible if they received any previous non-compliance citations from the Tri-County Health Department as of Dec. 18, 2020. While all businesses are eligible to apply, the program will initially prioritize restaurant, gym, and indoor event applications. There is no cost for the application.
Businesses must complete the online application stating that the business is willing and able to meet all the criteria on the Business Certification Checklist. Please note: Businesses with multiple locations must certify each location separately. Accepted participants are not required to re-apply each time Arapahoe County’s position on the statewide dial moves, but they must remain in good standing to continue operating at the higher-level capacity restrictions.
To facilitate the application process, businesses must file a site-specific implementation and compliance plan with the County as part of their application, to document how they will implement these requirements for their specific business and location; a template for this is available on the Five-Star website. To further facilitate certification, businesses should review the following prior to submitting the online form:
Verify Location: Within the application, businesses will be asked whether their facility is located within unincorporated Arapahoe County or in a municipality. Failure to accurately denote location could delay application routing to the appropriate entity.
Review Requirements: Consistent with the State of Colorado program requirements, businesses applying to the program will need to meet certain General Business requirements for certification. In addition, there are industry-specific requirements businesses will need to follow.
Once a business has successfully submitted an application, the form will be forwarded to the appropriate city or County entity (depending on business location) for review, and for scheduling of a live inspection with the owner or manager. Inspectors are County staff who will visually validate business compliance with stated program requirements. Once businesses successfully pass inspection and submit any additional site-specific plans, they will receive an email informing them of program acceptance, along with a certificate to print and display in their window. Businesses that fail inspection will be able to correct any issues and reapply.
For more information, visit the Five-Star website. A list of program resources and FAQs is also available.