For those with family members in nursing homes right now, the last five months have been agony. There has been a strict nursing home lockdown in Louisiana. Visitors are simply not allowed. But, there is now hope that visitors may soon be allowed to visit their family members in person and not with a window in between.
Opening soon?
The governor announced this week that visitors (both friend and family members) may be able to visit their loved ones soon. However, this comes with caveats.
For background, the federal government has already begun sending rapid coronavirus tests to nursing homes across the state and U.S. And, Louisiana is getting the shipments first. These tests give result in about 15 minutes, and they will be prioritized to nursing homes.
This will allow for twice a week testing of residents and staff, and the governor is allowing the tests to also be used for visitors. Of course, visitors will likely have to schedule their visits in advance to ensure they can be tested.
A timeline was not given by the governor because the delivery schedule for individual nursing homes has not been released. But, apparently, this should be happening over the course of the next couple of weeks as $3,500 tests should be shipped later this week.
Potential consequences?
If everything happens on schedule, we could be visiting our relatives relatively soon. However, nursing home residents and their family members should be mindful of the updated rules and how they affect residents.
Depending on how rules are rolled out and enforced, people may still suffer negative effects. If this occurs though, depending on the situation and the negligent actors, nursing Home negligence survivors and their families may be able to sue for personal injury or medical malpractice. But, this will likely require victims and their families to call an attorney first.