Georgia providers would be required to provide access to some visitors even during public health emergencies under a proposal recently approved by state lawmakers.
The Georgia House on Monday passed HB 290, which prohibits hospitals and nursing homes from enacting policies that prevent patients from being visited by a designated family member or friend. Specifically, it requires long-term care facilities to provide visitation access to two essential caregivers for at least two hours per day with a resident, a report by the Atlanta Journal Constitution detailed.
Essential caregiver programs have been a common tool used by several states to ensure visitation access to residents while federal restrictions remain in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
LeadingAge Georgia said that while it supports state laws and administrative orders that allow essential visitors, it would prefer federal agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services drive policy throughout the country.
“The emotional and physical toll of isolation has been very tough on residents throughout the pandemic,” Ginny Helms, organization president and CEO, told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Tuesday. “Not being able to visit has been extremely upsetting on family members who want to ‘lay eyes on their loved ones’ to make sure they are okay.”
Helms said facilities are relying on experts with Quality Improvement Organizations and the ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network to advise them on how to conduct safe visits.
“Our industry and regulators need to put focus on how to have safe visits and embrace essential visitors,” she said.
But she added that “long-term care communities who come under CMS really have to follow their rules even if they have state laws that allow for essential visitors [or] legal representatives.”
The bill now heads to the state Senate for approval. Helms said she’s unsure how likely it is the proposal will be approved and signed into law by the state’s governor.
