[NYAPRS Enews] Breaking: NY to Allow Visitors to Hospitals and Group Homes

[Harvey Rosenthal]

Coronavirus: NY to Allow Visitors to Hospitals and Group Homes, But Not Nursing Homes
David Robinson<https://www.lohud.com/staff/4388380002/david-robinson/>  New York State Team  June 16, 2020

ALBANY - Visitors will soon be allowed again at hospitals and group homes in New York after being banned for nearly three months during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.
The moves comes as New York continues to see lower hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. A total of 25 deaths were reported statewide Monday due to the virus, the lowest daily total since mid-March.
The disease has killed more than 24,500 New Yorkers since March 1, according to the state Department of Health.
The new rules for visitors will include time limits on visitation, as well as requiring visitors to wear personal protective equipment and undergo temperature and COVID-19 symptom screening, according to Cuomo's presentation during his daily press briefing in Albany.
"This was always a balance of public health versus the personal relationships," Cuomo said, referring to people desperately wanting to visit loved ones in hospitals and group homes.
Hospitals will still be allowed to deny visitors at their own discretion. Group homes will begin allowing visitors on Friday, Cuomo said. Many other details were not immediately clear.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear when visitors will be allowed to return to nursing homes, which have been ravaged by more than 6,100 deaths connected to COVID-19.
Asked Tuesday about the reason for maintaining the visitor ban in nursing homes, Cuomo cited COVID-19's heightened threat to the elderly and frail in nursing homes.
"We're still studying it and there is still a high risk," he said, adding the state Health Department will make the call on when and how to safely lift the ban.
Cuomo, a Democrat, has faced mounting pressure from relatives of nursing home and group home residents<https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/06/11/visitors-allowed-nursing-and-group-homes-not-yet-cuomo-says/5344021002/> to allow visitors. Some family members have voiced concerns about being separated from loved ones in nursing homes amid questions about operators failing to protect them from the virus.
Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin, a Republican, urged Cuomo Tuesday on social media to allow outside visits to nursing homes with social distancing and personal protective equipment measures.
"People need to see their families," he said on Twitter.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts began allowing visitors to nursing homes under strict conditions, and New Jersey state health officials announced they are working on similar plans to allow families to see loved ones inside nursing homes<https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/06/11/visitors-allowed-nursing-and-group-homes-not-yet-cuomo-says/5344021002/>.
Massachusetts allows residents to see guests only outdoors. Other restrictions include having a staff member present at the visit, temperatures taken before admittance and a limit of two visitors.
Scott Fallon of NorthJersey.com contributed to this report.
David Robinson is the state health care reporter for the USA TODAY Network New York. He can be reached atdrobinson at gannett.com<mailto:drobinson at gannett.com> and followed on Twitter:@DrobinsonLoHud<https://twitter.com/DRobinsonLoHud>
https://www.lohud.com/story/news/coronavirus/2020/06/16/ny-allow-visitors-hospitals-group-homes-but-not-nursing-homes/3198564001/?csp=chromepush
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NY To Allow Visits At Hospitals, Group Homes, Cuomo Says
www.syracuse.com<https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/06/ny-to-allow-visits-at-hospitals-group-homes-cuomo-says.html>
Albany, N.Y. - Visitors will be allowed to return to hospitals and group homes across New York starting this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday.
Visits at hospitals can begin Tuesday, Cuomo said. Group homes certified by the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities can begin taking visitors Friday.
Individuals hospitals and group homes will make the final decision on whether to allow visitors in their own facilities, Cuomo said.
Hospitals choosing to allow visitors must follow all state guidelines, including time-limited visits, requiring protective equipment for visitors and conducting symptom and temperature checks.
The state began a pilot program on hospital visits in May, which included St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center<https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/05/st-josephs-hospital-in-ny-pilot-program-to-reopen-hospitals-to-visitors.html> in Syracuse.
Groups homes must notify the state if they choose to allow visits and follow all guidelines. Visitors must wear masks and agree to symptom and temperature checks.
RELATED: CNY autistic teen in group home can't understand why family stopped visiting<https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus/2020/06/cny-autistic-teen-in-group-home-cant-understand-why-family-stopped-visiting.html>
The state Health Department is still studying whether to restart visits at nursing homes, Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said.
For now, the risk remains too high, Cuomo said.
The state first halted visits at hospitals, nursing homes and group homes in March to help slow the spread of the coronavirus<https://www.syracuse.com/coronavirus> pandemic.
Cuomo repeatedly acknowledged how difficult the restriction on visits was for hospital patients and others. But he said it was necessary to protect people particularly vulnerable to the virus, which tends to be more dangerous to those with underlying health problems.
Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email<mailto:ktampone at syracuse.com> | Twitter<http://twitter.com/ktampone> | Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/kevintampone/> | 315-282-8598






Harvey Rosenthal
NYAPRS Chief Executive Officer
Office: 518-436-0008; C: 518-527-0564
harveyr at nyaprs.org<mailto:harveyr at nyaprs.org>
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