The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all of us, but possibly none more than the individuals working and living in nursing homes and their loved ones. I have watched in amazement as my friends and colleagues battle an invisible killer in their facilities. They work long hours often isolated from family and friends. They expose themselves to the very thing we fear in an effort to care for those unfortunate residents that have contracted Covid-19. Their herculean efforts are often viewed as inadequate when faced with circumstances that leave no good solution or answer.
At the same time families are by law being kept from their loved ones. One of our families dropped their loved one off at the nursing home and the following day the facility went on complete lockdown because of the virus. The pain, fear and frustration the family felt was very real. It his hard enough to remove a loved one from their home but to then have them isolated and unable to be around any of their family to ease the transition. Logic and emotion collide in these matters. Certainly, we can all understand the need to isolate the residents of nursing home facilities from the outside world. It is evident that once the virus gets into a facility it can quickly take hold. “In New York, for example, more than 1,100 state nursing home and adult care facility residents have died from Covid-19 since the outbreak began.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/19/trump-nursing-homes-covid-coronavirus-195589
Families, all too often, feel like they are being left in a vacuum. They are reliant upon the community for information, which is often being provided. However, in absence of such communication, the family is left wondering what is going on inside the facility and how is their loved one doing. That absence of information breads worry and frustration. It is human nature to fill a void and the thoughts of a loved one suffering alone would be nearly too much to bear.
To fill the information void, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has issued new guidelines requiring nursing homes to provide families with information about their loved ones and what is going on in the facility. As Seema Verma, the CMS Administrator noted, “It is important that patients and their families have the information that they need, and they need to understand what’s going on in the nursing home.” https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/19/trump-nursing-homes-covid-coronavirus-195589
These guidelines note that current requirements specify that nursing homes notify State or Local health department about residents or staff with suspected or confirmed Covid-19. Now those same nursing homes must notify residents and their representatives within 12 hours of a single confirmed case of Covid-19. In addition, the same notice requirements are required if three or more residents or staff have new onset respiratory symptoms that occur within 72 hours. Once such notices requirements have been triggered, the facility must update residents and their representatives weekly upon any new occurrences that would trigger those same notice requirements. The facilities are also instructed to provide information related to any mitigation actions that are being implemented to prevent or reduce the risk of transmission of Covid-19. The new CMS guidance can be located at https://www.cms.gov/medicareprovider-enrollment-and-certificationsurveycertificationgeninfopolicy-and-memos-states-and/upcoming-requirements-notification-confirmed-covid-19-or-covid-19-persons-under-investigation-among
If you or your family have estate planning and/or elder law questions, contact the experienced St. Charles Elder Attorneys at Jones Elder Law. Get the information you need to make crucial decisions during the ongoing pandemic. If we can help guide you, contact our St. Charles elder law firm at (636) 812-2575 and ask to schedule a call or virtual consultation. For your safety and ours, we have developed the Minimal Contact Planning process.
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