Some facilities are accepting visitors, but protocols vary widely
by Andrew Soergel
Which states allow in-person nursing home visits?
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Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in certain states have started to gradually reopen, in some cases adopting outdoor visiting options to help residents reconnect with their loved ones.
The federal government established benchmarks in mid-May for state and local officials to determine when nursing home visits could resume, but urged “extreme caution” and said the facilities should be “among the last to reopen” in communities lifting pandemic-related restrictions. The facilities had been closed to almost all visitors since March, per federal guidance.
States’ willingness to allow visitors for facilities and their vulnerable residents — potentially increasing their risk of exposure to the coronavirus — has varied, and there are huge variations among individual facilities, even in the same state. Nursing homes that don't have access to enough outdoor space, personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies may need to think carefully about adopting outdoor visits, health experts say. And some states and facilities are requiring visitors to fill out additional paperwork or sign visitation agreements.
"The responses should really be tailored to your environment — not just your state, but your local microclimates and your local prevalence of disease,” says David Nace, M.D., president of the nonprofit Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine and chief medical officer at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Senior Communities assisted living and skilled nursing operations.
Assisted living facilities have in some cases opened up to visitors more quickly than nursing homes. Officials in Ohio, for example, approved assisted living visits over a month before they did the same for nursing homes. But guidance for nursing homes and assisted living facilities has been similar at the federal and state levels, and visiting access to assisted living also varies between states and even between neighboring communities.
Some states have started paving the way for indoor visitation at nursing homes, though masks, social distancing practices and temperature screenings are typically required for anyone entering a nursing home or long-term care facility. AARP is stressing safety above all but is advocating for outdoor visitation in facilities that meet federal guidelines and maintain strict visitor protocols. Facilities should be fully staffed, coronavirus-free and have adequate personal protective equipment and testing resources on hand before considering in-person visits, says Elaine Ryan, vice president for state advocacy and strategy at AARP.
"Sadly, many facilities have not met these criteria,” she says. “If facilities meet CDC requirements, then outdoor visitation should be available to all residents. Universality and equity is critical."
Here's where each state stands on nursing home and long-term care visitors:
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