Ohio Caregivers Prepare for Nursing Home Visits starting
July 20
For Rebecca Bickett, July 22 couldn’t have gotten here soon
enough.
As soon as she heard
Governor Mike DeWine announce on June 29 that effective July
20, nursing homes would be permitted to begin outdoor
visitation, Bickett said she called the next day for a
visitation appointment.
Her mother Virginia (Ginny) Jones, 88, lives with dementia
in a skilled nursing facility. Because of COVID-19, Bickett
has not physically seen her mother since the spring and the
separation has been tough.
“She’s on the second floor and I can’t do window visits,”
Bickett said. “I’ve got to be honest with you, I even took a
ladder over and tried. I needed an extension ladder and
didn’t feel that would be the wise thing to do.”
For Bickett, seeing her mother up close and personal was
worth the try.
In mid-March, Governor DeWine announced that visitors would
not be permitted at Ohio’s nursing facilities. While
assisted living facilities and intermediate care homes for
the developmentally disabled resumed outdoor visitation on
June 8, nursing homes who meet all the safety standards
start Monday.
Pete Van Runkle, executive director of The Ohio Health Care
Association (OHCA), said he is confident that visits for
nursing home residents are safe if done correctly. “We are
happy to see this option opening up for the residents that
our providers care for in these settings. We have advocated
for safe visits as we know these are necessary for the
health and quality of life for our residents.”
The OHCA represents
more than 1,000 assisted living communities, home care and
hospice service providers, providers of care and services to
individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
(ID/DD), and skilled nursing care facilities.
While many caregivers are anxious to finally see their loved
ones in person, many are not sure what physical condition
they will find them in, particularly if their loved one has
Alzheimer’s or another dementia.
Pamela Myers, program director for the Alzheimer’s
Association Northwest Ohio and Central Ohio, said, "We have
heard from so many of our caregivers that they have been
told their loved ones have been more confused as they have
been more isolated on the no visitor restriction. This is a
huge concern for caregivers as increased confusion could
possibly lead to undesirable behaviors or a decline in
physical health and adds worry to an already tough
situation."
Currently 220,000 Ohioans
live with Alzheimer’s disease. Older people with Alzheimer’s
or other dementias have more skilled nursing facility stays
and home health care visits per year than other older
people. Nationwide, according to the
2020 Alzheimer’s Disease
Facts and Figures report, 48 percent of nursing
home residents have Alzheimer’s or other dementias.
Amy Kullik has not
physically seen her mother Lynn Phillips, who lives in a
skilled nursing unit, since March 6 - two days after her 69th
birthday. Diagnosed four and a half years ago with Young
Onset Alzheimer’s, she has kept in touch through FaceTime
and phone calls.
“She’s in the later stages
of Alzheimer’s so she does not understand anymore the
technology like she used to,” Kullik said. “When she sees us
on FaceTime, she does not understand we are not there with
her and she’ll get up and go to the next room looking for
us. That was back in March. Now she just looks down at the
screen. Over the last three months she has become
non-communicative. She does not say a word…This inability to
communicate is new. It’s kind of heartbreaking that it has
happened in this period of time when we have not been able
to see her.”
Cedric Howard said he and
his father, Lee Howard, have been getting updates on his
uncle, who is in a nursing facility but who does not have
dementia, through phone calls and letters from the facility.
The last time they saw Thomas Howard, Jr. was Feb. 29. “He’s
been in pretty good spirits,” Howard said about his uncle.
“He’s just trying to understand why no one has been up there
to see him.”
Howard said his dad is
ready to see his uncle. “He’s ready to see him, see how he
is doing,” Howard said. “We know he is doing OK, but we kind
of want to put some eyes on him.”
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