As of November 12th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has updated its guidelines for visitors to nursing homes. This comes after over a year of rules and regulations that have been viewed as controversial by many, especially after nursing homes and the seniors that reside within them were hit the hardest by the pandemic. Unfortunately, this was the population already most susceptible to illness and early measures did very little to protect them.
The biggest change is regarding how long visitors can stay. As of this most recent change, there is no federal limit on how long guests can stay within a nursing home. Additionally, visitation can take place indoors and do not need to be scheduled ahead of time. This is all the case as long as visits do not present any danger to other residents. What this will look like will likely vary from state to state.
It’s likely that the new measures will be met with criticism, just like previous measures have been. This virus has proven to be long lasting and difficult to predict. Even strong measures are likely to have failures. Hopefully, this is a step forward when it comes to the health and wellness of our older loved ones, though.
Having to abide by visitation guidelines is one of the negative aspects of residing within a nursing home or another care facility. Although there are great things that nursing homes and assisted living facilities provide, this is one of the drawbacks. And while these can be an ideal setting for some people to spend their senior years, they aren’t the right choice for all elderly folk.
It’s important to have options. What’s great for one won’t be ideal for another. This is one of the reasons why we are strong advocates of in-home care. It offers a flexibility that other types of care can’t provide with the same level of ease and convenience. In-home care can adapt to meet changing needs. If your loved one needs more help throughout the day, it can be adjusted. If your loved one begins to deteriorate physically or mentally, in-home care can be altered to help better meet those needs. It’s a type of care that can grow with your loved one as they age.
Regardless of which type of care you’ve deemed best for your family’s unique set of needs and circumstances, having access to the care and attention needed is important. Part of a well-balanced approach to care is mental health, and this means social interaction with beloved individuals. If your loved one has access to this and has all of their physical needs met, great! It sounds like you’ve found the ideal care for them at this time.
But needs change, and what’s good now might not always work. If you’d like to learn more about how care can be adapted to change along with your loved one, feel free to get in touch. One of our trained professionals would love to talk more about how to get connected to the right type of care within your community.
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