Safety recommendations for long-term care facilities

Thousands of long-term care facilities in the United States have experienced coronavirus outbreaks, and as a recent article in the Delaware State News notes, Delaware’s own nursing homes aren’t exempt.

AARP Delaware is urging its leaders to protect older adults living in long-term care facilities with the following recommendations:

• A plan to ensure safe staffing levels in facilities.
• Mandatory notification of families regarding numbers of cases and deaths among residents and staff.
• Daily, public reporting of the names of nursing homes and assisted-living communities with numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths.
• Mandatory facilitation of virtual visits between residents and their loved ones.

We are calling for the governor and our secretary of health to shed light on what is happening in our long-term care facilities and to take swift and decisive action to ensure the health and safety of residents and staff.

P.J. McGill
AARP Delaware advocacy volunteer
Dover