skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Ohio Opens Door for Indoor Nursing Home Visits

play audio
Play

Monday, October 12, 2020   

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Spending time with a loved one has been out of reach since March for some of the most vulnerable Ohioans. And starting today, they'll be able to make contact once again.

Nursing homes and assisted-living facilities can now allow indoor visitation, if they follow certain health and safety requirements. Director of the Ohio Department of Aging Ursel McElroy explained state leaders carefully considered the impact of isolation on quality of life alongside the increased risk of infection in close living quarters.

"We do understand that having disconnection certainly can have an impact on both physical and cognitive decline," McElroy said. "We also appreciat and have experienced just how quickly this virus can wreak havoc on a facility and the individuals within."

According to state data, at least 2,700 residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities have died with COVID-19, accounting for 64% of total COVID deaths in Ohio.

Visitation requirements include a two-visitor limit for a maximum for 30 minutes and safety protocols, such as social distancing and wearing face masks.

Ilene Henshaw, director of state health and family advocacy at AARP, said the organization has created a tip sheet, "5 Questions to Ask About Visiting Nursing Homes." She suggests asking about the procedures for preventing infection, screening, personal protective equipment and communication with families.

"You will also want to figure out how you can best contact the nursing home," Henshaw said. "Is there a particular individual you should be calling, and what is the best way to reach that individual? Ask for their direct number, a cell number or an email,"

State officials have also announced an online dashboard will soon be launched where facilities will report information about visitation. McElroy believes it will be a valuable tool.

"You will have an opportunity to see if they have visitation open; if it's window visitation, outdoor visitation, indoor visitation," McElroy said. "This will give us a really good picture of how visitation and those connections have been facilitated throughout the state."

Nursing homes are home to less than 1% of the country's population but account for more than one-quarter of coronavirus deaths.

Henshaw said COVID-19 has been a wake-up call, considering 80% of nursing homes had serious infection-control problems prior to the pandemic.

"We need to do more to rethink how we provide those long-term care services, how we can better support the hands-on caregivers, who are so dedicated and doing their best to provide care to very vulnerable people," Henshaw said.

The tip sheet is online at AARP.org/nursinghomes.

Disclosure: AARP Ohio contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Health Issues, Senior Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021