Metro East Sun

Long-term care facility residents should be able to exercise their right to in-person visitations according to House Resolution 298 filed by state Rep. Charlie Meier (R-Okawville).

In his 3-minute speech, he explained the impact and significance of allowing in-person visitation, especially during the COVID-19 when residents have been placed in a much-beleaguered situation.

“House Resolution 298 was brought to us after the year of dealing with COVID,” Meier said. “Over the last year-and-a-half, we've had 10,300 long-term care facility deaths, 78,400 residents have been confirmed with COVID. The total separation and lack of physical contact on nursing residents has led to the feeling of loneliness, abandonment, despair, and fear. And these feelings are only pushing the pandemic’s death toll higher. Isolation and loneliness are associated with a 50% increased risk of developing dementia, a 32% increased risk of stroke, a 29% increased risk of coronary heart disease, and the nearly four-fold increase risk of death among heart failure patients.”

Meier underscored that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines recommend that facilities should allow responsible in-person visitation.

“The updated visitation guidance by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services dated on March 10, 2021, and April 27, 2021, emphasize that these facilities must allow end-of-life and compassionate care visits regardless of the community positivity rates in outbreak or vaccinations status,” he said. “And any nursing home must facilitate in-person visitation assistance with the applicable CMS regulations. CMS guidelines for state facility should not restrict visitations for all residents as long as there is evidence that the transmission to COVID-19 is contained to a single area of the facility.”

Meier called on long-term care facilities to implement the recommendations and encouraged colleagues to vote in favor of the House Resolution.   

“We had to bring this resolution here today because we still have families not able to be with their loved ones in nursing homes as their loved ones are dying,” he said. “Somebody gets in and they're told they now have to leave and half an hour later their loved one is dead and he died by himself. This has happened in the last weeks. We’re urging all of our nursing homes to go ahead and honor these federal regulations and let our residents and their loved ones be together for the end of life. Let that resident have a family member there to feed them, a compassionate caregiver. They don't have to let the whole family in but the compassionate caregiver. We worked very hard on this. We couldn't get a bill to do this but we have House Resolution 298 so people no longer have to die by themselves if you can't be with your loved one when they're dying. So, I urge a yes vote.”

Over 10 Democrats joined more than 20 Republican representatives in supporting the House Resolution as co-sponsors.

The resolution that urges Illinois long-term care facilities to uphold federal and state laws on residents’ rights and protections was adopted.