Some facilities are accepting visitors, but protocols vary widely
by Andrew Soergel
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:
Full Article & Source:
Track the Status of Nursing Home Visits in Your State
