McMaster asks DHEC to release SC nursing home visitation guidelines during COVID-19
Now limited to end-of-life situations, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said on Friday he wants the state’s health agency to release guidelines that would allow immediate family members to visit their loved ones who live in nursing homes.
“Restricting visitation to our state’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities in March was a heartbreaking necessity,” McMaster wrote in a letter Friday to Mark Elam, chairman of the state’s Department of Health and Environmental Control board. “It was the most effective way to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to save the lives of our state’s elderly and at-risk residents.”
South Carolina’s nursing homes have recorded thousands of COVID-19 cases.
Since March, visitation at nursing homes has been limited to end-of-life situations in order to prevent spread of COVID-19 because nursing home residents — many of whom are 60 years and older — are considered vulnerable to catching the disease.
COVID-19, a respiratory disease, has a potentially deadly effect on people older than 60 who may have weakened immune systems, and who may be in frail health and have other underlying health conditions, according to state health officials.
As of Monday, 897 South Carolinians living in long-term care facilities have died and 4,246 residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Meanwhile, 14 facility employees have died and 2,270 staff members have tested positive, according to DHEC records.
South Carolina has reported more than 108,000 total cases of COVID-19 since March, and nearly 2,300 deaths around the state.
DHEC spokeswoman Laura Renwick said planned guidelines will be ready for McMaster’s review and shared publicly next week.
Visitation will be phased in based on disease levels in the long-term care facilities and the surrounding community, including based on the most recent federal guidance, Renwick said.
“We recognize that social isolation can have serious negative impacts on the health and well-being of residents in long-term care facilities and their loved ones,” she said. “To balance the strong desire of residents and their family members to communicate in person with the need to protect these vulnerable residents from COVID-19, we will be providing guidelines to nursing homes detailing the process to allow limited visitation.”
In late June, McMaster first asked DHEC to draft guidelines that would allow visitation at nursing homes. But soon after, he backtracked on that directive, asking that the guidelines be delayed as positive COVID-19 cases surged across the state.
Since, South Carolina’s daily case counts have recently dropped to below 1,000 new cases per day since spikes in June and July.
In order to reopen to visitors, McMaster said in his letter that vigorous testing, monitoring, scheduling and communication must all be involved in the plans and facilities must remain in strict compliance with the health agency’s guidelines.
“We are committed to protecting the physical, mental and emotional health of our elderly and at-risk people — and their loved ones,” McMaster wrote. “Although no policy or procedure can eliminate all possibility of risk, it is clear that the time has come to expand current rules to allow in-person visitation by immediate family members, loved ones or caregivers.”
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 11:11 AM.
