Thursday, June 8, 2023
THE SENIOR HEALTH LETTER
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Home Care
  • Elder Care
  • Wellness
  • Dementia
  • Caregivers
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Assisted living
  • Mindfulness
  • Seniors advocate
The Senior Health Letter
No Result
View All Result
Home Assisted living

Inslee says long-term care facilities can reopen for indoor visits

Delmar by Delmar
March 18, 2021
in Assisted living
0
Inslee says long-term care facilities can reopen for indoor visits
0
SHARES
5
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Citing increasing vaccination rates, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that the state’s nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and other long-term care sites can reopen their doors for visits.

Indoor visits are now allowed if a resident or visitor is fully vaccinated, Inslee said at Thursday’s news conference in Olympia.

The announcement was welcome news for the state’s 70,000 residents of 4,000 long-term care facilities, which have been the hardest hit – and locked down the tightest – since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Facilities banned visitors soon after outbreaks were reported in the Seattle area, and residents in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities largely remained confined to their rooms for most of the year.

“It’s long overdue,” said Deb Murphy, president and CEO of LeadingAge Washington, an advocacy organization that represents nonprofit nursing homes. “The need for hugs and caring touch between vaccinated residents with loved ones is critically important to their emotional well-being.”

Gov. Jay Inslee’s press conference to discuss the state’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Watch here:

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said facilities should allow indoor visits for all nursing home residents, regardless of whether the resident or the visitor is vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s also OK for a visitor to hug or touch a resident if the resident has been fully vaccinated, CMS said in its new guidance in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This guidance, however, does not change individual states’ restrictions.

Nearly all nursing homes and assisted-living facilities have received both doses of the vaccine through a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens. Adult family homes have received shots through the federal partnerships and through door-to-door efforts from health districts and fire departments.

Washington previously had a four-phase plan for facilities to open their doors, and indoor visits were in the third and fourth phase, which required counties to have 25 or fewer new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents within a two-week span. Six counties currently meet the criteria.

COVID-19 has been especially deadly in the state’s long-term care facilities. Long-term care residents account for about 1% of the state’s population, but about 49% of deaths in the state attributable to COVID-19, according to the state Department of Health.

Across the state, 143 facilities have at least one active case of COVID-19 among residents or state, which is the lowest number in at least six months, according to Department of Social and Health Services data. At the peak in December, nearly 600 facilities reported at least one active infection. To be taken off the list, facilities have to go 28 days without a positive test.

As doors open, residents and their loved ones will have to grapple with the effects of a roughly year-long lockdown that left those inside the buildings vulnerable to the trauma of social isolation. Long-term care workers reported higher rates of residents failing to thrive, characterized by weight loss, lack of appetite, inactivity and declining far faster than they would have otherwise. One employee described residents as “dying of a broken heart.”

For residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia, a lack of visits and decrease in mental stimulation may have accelerated cognitive decline that in some cases may be irreversible. In 2020, 500 more Washington residents died of Alzheimer’s or dementia than expected based on previous years, according to an analysis by the Alzheimer’s Association, which is 10% higher than normal. A number of factors related to the pandemic could have led to these “excess deaths,” according to the association.



Source link

Tags: carefacilitiesindoorInsleeLongtermReopenvisits
Advertisement Banner
Previous Post

Letter: Pandemic isolation takes toll on people with Alzheimer’s – STLtoday.com

Next Post

Is it dementia or something else?

Delmar

Delmar

Next Post
Is it dementia or something else?

Is it dementia or something else?

Discussion about this post

Recommended

COVID vaccine report: Cases, deaths in nursing homes down by 90%

COVID vaccine report: Cases, deaths in nursing homes down by 90%

2 years ago
Fronteras: ‘Salud America!’ Aims To Close Gap Of Latino Participation In Cancer, Alzheimer’s Research

Fronteras: ‘Salud America!’ Aims To Close Gap Of Latino Participation In Cancer, Alzheimer’s Research

2 years ago

Don't Miss

(2021-2026) Nursing Home Beds Market Size, Demand Status | Global Industry Segment Analysis, Growing Status of Key Players

Advice You Need To Know About Personal Development

May 12, 2021
Asceneuron Receives USD 2.2 Million Award from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation

Advocate Aurora Enterprises acquires national leader in home care and wellness offerings Senior Helpers

April 1, 2021
‘I’m in jail’: BPS mothers and caregivers voice concerns with district reopening plans

‘I’m in jail’: BPS mothers and caregivers voice concerns with district reopening plans

April 1, 2021
As Loved Ones Reunite After A Year, Dementia Experts Offer These Tips

As Loved Ones Reunite After A Year, Dementia Experts Offer These Tips

April 1, 2021

Categories

  • Alzheimer's
  • Assisted living
  • Caregivers
  • Dementia
  • Elder Care
  • Home Care
  • Mindfulness
  • Seniors advocate
  • Uncategorized
  • Wellness

Follow us

Recent News

(2021-2026) Nursing Home Beds Market Size, Demand Status | Global Industry Segment Analysis, Growing Status of Key Players

Advice You Need To Know About Personal Development

May 12, 2021
Asceneuron Receives USD 2.2 Million Award from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation

Advocate Aurora Enterprises acquires national leader in home care and wellness offerings Senior Helpers

April 1, 2021
March 2021
S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
    Apr »
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2021 The Senior health Letter

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Home Care
  • Elder Care
  • Wellness
  • Dementia
  • Caregivers
  • Alzheimer’s
  • Assisted living
  • Mindfulness
  • Seniors advocate

© 2021 The Senior health Letter