Limited Visitation To Nursing Homes Now Allowed

LONG ISLAND, NY — Seniors living at nursing homes who have spent months without seeing their loved ones due to the coronavirus pandemic will now be able to have visits.

Recently, New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker announced that nursing homes and long-term care facilities statewide will be allowed to resume limited visitations for facilities that have been without COVID-19 for at least 28 days, a threshold set by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Residents will be allowed two visitors at a time; those visiting must undergo temperature checks, wear face coverings and socially distance during the visit, state officials said.

At least one of the two visitors must be at least 18 years of age or older.

With an eye toward social distancing, only 10 percent of the residents at each facility can be allowed visitors at any one time, state officials said.

Nursing homes accepting visitors are required to send their visitation plan to the New York State Department of Health and confirm that they are following the outlined guidance.

Also kicking off once again is visitation at the state's long-term care ombudsman program, which provides additional support to residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities; ombudsman staff must utilize appropriate PPE for the duration of the visit, and must be screened as if they were a nursing home staffer, including having to present a verified negative test result to the nursing home within the past week.

"With the knowledge we now have about how COVID-19 came into nursing homes — mainly through asymptomatic staff and visitors through no fault of their own — it is critical that as we resume visitations to these facilities, we do it in a smart and cautious way to ensure the health and safety of residents and staff," Zucker said, adding that the state will continue to closely monitor the situation in each facility, and make adjustments based on the facts and data.

"I know how painful it has been for residents of these facilities to endure such a long period of time without seeing family and loved ones, and my hope is that this adjustment to the visitation policy will provide some comfort to everyone," Zucker said.