Erin Tiernan: Nursing homes reopen to visitors -- with restrictions -- after pandemic boxed them out

Jun. 4--Nursing homes have shut out visitors for 10 weeks in an effort to curb coronavirus cases in hard-hit longterm care facilities. Visitors are now allowed back -- with restrictions.

Cutting off visitations at long-term care facilities was "one of the hardest decisions we've had to make," Gov. Charlie Baker has said numerous times since the pandemic began.

Baker has been cut off from seeing his own father, who lives in a long-term care facility. The governor said on Wednesday that he would be seeing him "soon."

Friends and family are now permitted to visit nursing homes as long as they schedule appointments in advance and adhere to a lengthy list of requirements laid out earlier this week by the Baker administration.

Visits are also dependent on "permissible weather conditions, availability of outdoor space, and sufficient staffing at the facility to meet resident care needs, and the health and well-being of the resident," according to guidance the Baker administration released earlier this week.

Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said the stringent visitation requirements are necessary to prevent an influx of coronavirus cases in already hard-hit nursing homes.

Long-term care facility residents or staff members account for 62% of all nursing home deaths with 4,447 of the total 7,152 statewide since the coronavirus pandemic began. Of the state's 101,592 probable or confirmed COVID-19 cases, 21% -- or 21,785 -- are among nursing home residents or staff.

The staggering tolls prompted an audit of the 360 long-term care facilities where coronavirus cases and deaths were reported.

The Baker administrations announced two infusions of $130 million in additional funding for nursing homes. The second installment hinged on testing at least 90% of residents and staff by the end of May and passing a 28-point infection control checklist.

While all but nine of the 360 facilities completed the testing, only 228 were found to meet the infection control protocols.

On nursing home audits: Facilities that score "red" will be denied some funding -- these are extra "accountability" dollars being awarded to facilities in the coronavirus era. Sudders says this is a "motivator to improve."

___

(c)2020 the Boston Herald

Visit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.