A study was requested by Oklahoma’s House of Representative’s Subcommittee on Health Services to determine the impact on residents of the Coronavirus lockdown prohibiting visitation in long-term care facilities. The study showed that depression, anxiety, and symptoms of dementia are increasing due to the prolonged isolation stemming from no in-person visitation, with some facilities being locked down since March.
The state’s Ombudsman Agency investigators have been restricted from entering facilities. One state ombudsman said this: “All of a sudden, almost in the blink of an eye, facilities were basically allowed to operate with little to no presence from outsiders, and that causes great concern.”
Family members of residents are also complaining and expressing concerns because they have not been able to get accurate accounts of what is happening to their loved ones, and they fear that the residents are being neglected.
About 42% of the almost 1,900 residents in Oklahoma nursing homes who contracted COVID-19 have died, according to data issued August 21 from the State Health Department. It was also noted that staff retention at these facilities has been a historic struggle, which contributes to the difficulty of ensuring sufficient resources to safely re-open visitation with families.
The State Health Department issued a three-tier plan for facilities to follow that allows for modified in-person visitation, but it is not forcing nursing homes to re-open. Critics contend that the State should be more proactive and question why some facilities that meet the plan’s criteria are still not allowing visitors.
The executive director of LeadingAge Oklahoma commented on what she described as the “sustained battering with no end in sight” from the pandemic. She said, “Visitation is more than current staff can do.” She also pushed for legislators to “consider an essential worker wage enhancement and better coordination of personal protective equipment, as well as requiring postmortem COVID-19 testing to determine potential outbreaks early.”
Compliance Perspective
Failure to allow in-person visitation of residents when a facility meets its state’s requirements for allowing in-person visitation related to COVID-19 due to a reported need for additional staffing in order to meet guidelines may be considered a violation of residents’ rights to have visitors and to be free from involuntary seclusion.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures related to residents’ visitation rights and their protection from involuntarily seclusion when state or federal COVID-19 issued guidelines on visitation have been met. Also, consider what protocols to put into place regarding the need for additional personnel to implement re-opening visitation, and ensure that families are kept informed about care being provided to their loved ones.
- Train staff regarding residents’ visitation rights, preventing involuntarily seclusion, and the protocols to follow for allowing visitors, including any required monitoring of those visits.
- Periodically audit to ensure that sufficient staff are scheduled to monitor visitation, that families are informed on a regular basis regarding the care of their loved ones, and that any complaints are investigated and responded to appropriately.
