Specialized Information for:
Long-Term Care ConsumersFamily MembersAdvocatesCOVID-19Residents of long-term care have been subject to strict visitation policies for months since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. These policies have had a significant effect on the health and well-being of residents. Find information and resources below on the latest federal guidance on visitation, things to look for as visitors begin to be permitted into facilities, voting resources, and how to advocate for long-term care residents.
Compassionate care visits are special visits in which a family member or other visitor provides comfort, support, and/or assistance to a resident whose well-being is suffering or at risk, or who is dying. Read our fact sheet for information on what the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) considers a compassionate care visit, what makes a compassionate care visit special and different from other visits, and when a resident can receive compassionate care visits, and further information on visitation.
After six months of strict visitation restrictions in nursing homes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a memo significantly easing those restrictions.
The new guidance, which is effective immediately, permits outdoor visitation, indoor visitation, and compassionate care visits and lays out a framework for those visits. CMS notes that this guidance replaces all previous guidance. You can go here to see what your state's policy is on visitation.
Read Consumer Voice's summary of the guidance.
Watch the webinar from Friday, October 2, 2020 on the CMS guidance on visitation, what it allows and requires, the shortfalls of the guidance, and advocacy strategies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted residents of long-term care facilities and their families. In-person visitation restrictions imposed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 required residents and families to adapt quickly to other means of communication. As in-person visits resume, you will want to look for any changes in your loved one’s appearance or demeanor to get a better sense of the impact on him or her. See our fact sheet.
What can you do if you are denied the ability to enter a facility and visit your loved one?
As many facilities across the country begin to allow visitation, many families will be seeing their loved ones in person for the first time in nearly six months. Consumer Voice would like to hear from you about your visits and about how your loved one is managing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fill out the reentry survey for families and friends with loved ones in long-term care facilities.
Residents of long-term care: Continue to share with us your experience of living in a long-term care facility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fill out this form to share your story.
Connections – to family, to friends, and to the community – are essential components of good health and quality of life for residents. The months of restrictions on visitation in long-term care facilities and the inability of residents, families, and friends to be together during the coronavirus pandemic has emphasized the importance of connection, of relationships, and the impact they have on all of our well-being. During this crisis, many creative ways of staying connected were shared that can be replicated and built upon in all communities.
See activity suggestions and resources for staying connected and engaged.
The resources below provide information for residents and family members about how they can advocate
Part of being a good advocate is taking care of yourself, read our fact sheets for tips on how family caregivers and residents can take care of themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.