Community

‘Great relief’: Families reunite as centers navigate easing visitation rules

By Patrick Adrian And Jordan J. Phelan
Staff Writers
CLAREMONT — The prospect of celebrating your 102nd birthday is already wonderful enough, even before you start to consider the colorful decorations, bountiful presents, and delectable culinary delights. But amid the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic, it can be quite difficult to find something to celebrate.

Well, just don’t tell Rita Moore that.

On Tuesday, Elm Wood Center resident Rita Moore marked her 102nd year of life in what pre-pandemic people would call a quite unconventional way. With a pane of glass inserted in the middle of a large desk, seats set up on either side, and a red sheet of cloth draped down from a steel frame, the environment felt more like a board meeting between enthusiastic staff and the true boss of the long term care facility.

But that all changed when she was reunited with family for the first time in more than a year.

Lillian Phaup, Moore’s daughter, didn’t get the opportunity to celebrate her mother’s 101st birthday last year. It fell just a few days after federal and state officials ordered nursing homes and group living facilities to restrict visitors in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Once certain hopes of celebrating the holidays that highlight the importance of family began to fade as the pandemic dragged on.

But this year was different.

One week prior to Moore’s birthday, the Elm Wood Center reopened for indoor visitation, a decision that was made in collaboration with Genesis, of which the center is affiliated, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that updated the visitation guidance for nursing centers in light of “high resident vaccination rates and a drop in COVID-19 cases around the country,” according to Lori Mayer, spokesperson for Elm Wood Center.

The updated visitation guidance also lists three scenarios in which indoor visits would not be permitted, including: if a center has a positivity rate greater than 10% and less than 70% of residents in the facility are fully vaccinated; if residents are diagnosed with COVID-19, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated; or if residents are in quarantine, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated.

So with a mountain of cards to go through and enough cake for seconds, Moore, who was born in Lawrence, Mass., and worked for American board game manufacturer Milton Bradley Company until she retired in 1982, displayed her contentment by showing off all her newfound treasurers and embracing the one she has had all along: her family.

“I feel great relief,” said Phaup about Elm Wood Center easing up visitor restrictions in time for her mother’s birthday. “I hope this will be over sooner so we can really get back to normal. I miss coming in every day. [My mother is] a very caring person always trying to do something for someone.”

In Unity, the Sullivan County nursing home currently permits family visitations for “compassionate care” situations, such as an end-of-life scenario or one that might improve a resident’s wellbeing. New guidelines released today will enable facilities to expand to social visitations, which the county facility will begin allowing on Monday, April 12, according to Administrator Ted Purdy.

Visitations must be scheduled in advance, Purdy told The Eagle Times. Visitors are required to wear protective gear such as face masks inside the facility and participate in screening questions and a temperature check to reduce the risk of carrying the virus. Each residential or hospital floor has a room designated for visitations.

“Visitors are not allowed to go to the floors themselves as they are used to doing,” Purdy said.

Purdy said the nursing home has been flexible with its compassionate care visitation policy by offering the opportunity to all residents. The nursing home began allowing these visits approximately three weeks ago after meeting the required number of consecutive days without a new reported case of the novel coronavirus.

“We were able to [reopen for visits] of being the first-in-line for vaccines to our residents and staff and the CDC guidelines,” Purdy said.

A copy of those guidelines is available on the state DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) website at https://www.nh.gov/covid19/resources-guidance/long-term-care.htm.

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