President Donald Trump’s executive order in January aimed at curtailing immigration raised red flags for at least two medical associations specializing in eldercare.
The order, which as of press time was blocked by a federal court decision, placed a 90-day suspension on visas and travel into the United States for citizens of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen over concerns about potential “terrorist entry.”
The Gerontological Society of America released comments noting that many of its members are immigrants. It said it was “deeply concerned about the chilling effect [the order] will have on science.”
The American Geriatrics Society also released a statement saying that it “opposes discrimination against healthcare professionals.” The group criticized the potential impact the order may have on the eldercare workforce.
While long-term care provider groups remained conspicuously mum on the issue, hospital groups also issued comments cautioning about a potential chill on research and foreign-nurse recruitment if the ban is upheld — or reintroduced in another form, as administration officials said they could do.
From the March 01, 2017 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
