From NPR/AP:
“Nursing homes can now lift
most COVID restrictions on visits”
(Melvin Goldstein, 90, glances at
pictures of birds, left, and a fish, his 13-year-old granddaughter drew for him
as a gift as his daughter Barbara Goldstein shares them with his during a
family visit inside the Hebrew Home at Riverdale on March 28 in New York. On
Friday, the government eased many remaining pandemic restrictions.)
The government on Friday directed
nursing homes to open their doors wide to visitors, easing many remaining
pandemic restrictions while urging residents, families and facility staff to
keep their guard up against outbreaks. The new guidance from the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services instructs nursing homes to allow visits at all
times for all residents. Facilities will no longer be able to limit the
frequency and length of visits, or require advance scheduling. Although large
groups of visitors are discouraged, nursing homes won't be allowed to limit the
number of loved ones and friends who can pay a call on residents.
Many states and communities are
still grappling with COVID-19 surges driven by the aggressive delta variant,
but the most recent government data show that cases among residents and staff
have continued to decline after rising earlier in the summer and fall. Nationally,
vaccination rates average 86% for nursing home residents and 74% for staff,
although that can vary dramatically from state to state and facility to
facility. Many nursing homes are rushing to provide booster shots for their
residents. Staffers were recently required by the government to get vaccinated.
This "gets us the closest to pre-pandemic visitation that we've ever been
since the beginning of the pandemic," said Jodi Eyigor, director of
nursing home quality and policy for LeadingAge, an industry group that
represents nonprofit facilities. "But it doesn't mean that the pandemic is
over and that COVID is not circulating," Eyigor added. "The nursing
homes, the residents and their loved ones are all going to have to work
together to make sure that visits are occurring and they are occurring
safely."
The federal guidance draws a line
on visits by people who have tested positive for COVID or meet the criteria for
quarantine. Nursing homes should not allow COVID-positive visitors to enter. But
residents can still receive visits if their facility is in the midst of an
outbreak investigation or if they themselves are under special precautions to
prevent COVID transmission. In such cases, residents and visitors must wear
masks and protective gear. It was unclear Friday how the new federal guidance
would work with local and state requirements that may be more restrictive. People
in long-term care facilities have borne a cruel toll from the pandemic. They
represent about 1% of the U.S. population, but accounted for roughly in 3 in 10
deaths. The ravages of COVID were compounded by enforced isolation. Nursing
homes went on lockdown in March of last year and residents were unable to see
their loved ones in person until early this spring.
^ Hopefully this new Federal
Guidance will allow more Nursing Homes to end their restrictions so their
elderly residents can see their friends and family a lot more than is currently
allowed. I agree that no one who is Positive for Covid should be allowed to
visit, but a whole Nursing Home shouldn’t be off-limits for 2 weeks during an
outbreak. My Dad went to a Nursing Home in New York earlier this month on his
last Leave and they were shut to outside Visitors because of a Covid Outbreak
there. My Dad doesn’t have Covid and had to get help from higher-ups to finally
be able to visit his Mother (he did have to wear PPE.) Since we don’t know when
he will be in New York again or how long my Grandmother has it was very important
for him to visit her. Millions of family face the same throughout the country.
^
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