Reopening Long-Term Care Facilities âan Absolute Necessity
By Judith Graham
Thursday, March 04, 2021 (Kaiser News) For nearly a year, nursing homes and assisted living centers have been mostly closed to visitors. Now, itâs time for them to open back up and relieve residents of crushing isolation, according to a growing chorus of long-term care experts, caregivers, consumer groups and physicians. This story also ran on CNN. It can be republished for free.
Theyâre calling for federal health authorities to relax visitation restrictions in long-term care institutions, replacing guidance thatâs been in place since September. And they want both federal and state authorities to grant special status to âessential caregiversâ â family members or friends who provide critically important hands-on care â so they have the opportunity to tend to relatives in need.