Local nursing homes are starting to relax their visitation protocols as more and more people get a COVID-19 vaccination, including those who work and reside in nursing homes.
Up until recently, many family members of nursing home residents were not allowed to visit, as the elderly demographic of these facilities were of the highest risk of contracting and falling severely ill due the virus.
“Families are getting to hug their loved ones for the first time in a year,” Carolyn Merritt, administrator of Hudson Memorial said. “There were a lot of tears and families overwhelmed with joy to be able to do that… You have no idea how much this means to families after so long of a time to do this.”
Part of the reason nursing homes like Hudson Memorial are able to relax their visitation restrictions is because of new guidelines released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that went into effect on March 10.
“Visitation can be conducted through various means based on a facility’s’ structure and residents’ needs, including in resident rooms, visitation spaces, and outdoors. Given the ongoing risk of COVID-19 transmission, CMS continues to recommend facilities, residents, and families adhere to the core principles of COVID-19 infection control, including maintaining physical distancing and conducting visits outdoors whenever possible,” reads a March 10 CMS revised visitation fact sheet.
Courtyard Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is making similar moves in lifting visitation restrictions.
“We are following all federal and state guidelines and we are happy to have some compassion and care visits for the families,” David Lewis, administrator of Courtyard, said. “It really has helped some of the patients here to see their loved ones. Plus we’re doing a lot of the visits outside in our beautiful courtyard, with the nice weather and maximizing safety.”
Courtyard even sent out a flyer to families proclaiming, “It’s family time at Courtyard,” encouraging loved ones of residents to call and make an appointment to visit and spend quality time with their family members.
The News-Times also reached out to Oak Ridge Health & Rehab, Timberlane Health & Rehab, as well as Ella Manor Assisted Living for input on this story but did not get a response in time for publication.