Part 12 What’s the next-next step?
THERE HAVE BEEN QUITE A FEW CHANGES since we last visited Mrs. Jones—at the same time, not a lot has changed. Mrs. Jones was talking to a friend about the new Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) visitation guidance issued at the federal level. Mrs. Jones was confused because in her building, the assisted living and the nursing home were attached and one side had one set of rules they were following while there was a different set for the other side. Both women were confused, so they decided to call their local Ombudsman to help them understand what was going on with visitation.
It is true that CMS has issued new federal guidance for nursing home visitation. This new guidance allows for visits in rooms and hugging/ physical touch (with parameters). It also outlines how visits can continue despite a facility having some positive cases. However, this guidance—at the current time—applies only to nursing homes. The guidance that is still governing assisted living (the 6th Amended Visitation Order) is what we discussed in last month’s article.
Why is this? To simplify it greatly, nursing homes are required to follow both state and federal guidance because they are funded through state and federal programs (e.g. Medicare), while assisted-living facilities are not paid through Medicare or federal funds and are, therefore, only beholden to rules and regulations at the state level.
So, what happens next? Previously, when new guidance was issued by CMS, Ohio issued new orders that reflected the guidance provided by CMS. The governor spoke in one of his recent press conferences about the possibility of relaxed visitation in assisted living, but as of yet, nothing has been issued in writing. We hope that we will continue to see the steady relaxation of restrictions while simultaneously keeping residents and families safe, but it can be very complicated and it can sometimes take time to get the orders written so that they can be interpreted with the writer’s intent in mind.
So, while some things are changing and some are staying the same with respect to visiting loved ones in long-term-care settings, the Ombudsman program continues to be here for you to answer questions and advocate. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Ombudsman program to get clarification on current guidance, discuss your experiences, or ask for help with any situation you are facing in the long-term-care setting.
We are here and will do our best to help you through advocacy and sharing of information. Please reach out to our intake line at 419-259-2891.
Megan Benner Senecal is a member of the Ombudsman Office.
