RI Nursing Homes Prepare For Phase 3 Visitation

PROVIDENCE, RI — After months of lockdown, Rhode Island's nursing homes and assisted living facilities will reopen for visitation in phase three. To ensure the safety of residents and staff, each facility is creating its own, tailored approach to visitation, the Rhode Island Department of Health said.

Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the department's director, said it was a very difficult decision to continue the ban on visitation during phase two of reopening. The department has used that time to create a "measured, gradual" approach to visitation, with resident health at the forefront.

Nursing homes have been the epicenter of infection throughout the coronavirus pandemic in Rhode Island, reporting around 75 percent of the state's total deaths. Gov. Gina Raimondo previously called these facilities "a perfect storm" for the virus because they house the state's most physically and medically fragile population, the difficulty to completely isolate residents and the fact that the virus affects elderly populations at a much higher rate than others.

Ending visitation was one of the first steps the state took to control the spread of COVID-19 in March. Since then, families have expressed concern about the physical and mental effects of isolation on residents. While Alexander-Scott and other members of the department acknowledged these concerns, the high rate of infection and mortality made visitation impossible for months.

Each facility will begin visitation on its own timeline, based on the health of residents. It will be different from before the pandemic, Alexander-Scott said, and will likely require physical distancing, mask-wearing, appointments and visiting outside when possible. While the exact dates have not yet been announced, all facilities are expected to allow visitation by the end of phase three, she said.

To see if more socialization is safe, facilities were instructed to allow residents to eat in communal dining rooms again: assisted living facilities starting Monday and nursing homes on Wednesday. In two weeks, the department will be able to see if this caused a spike in cases, Alexander-Scott said.

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