IL SR0305

Over 10,300 long-term care facility residents died of COVID-19 in Illinois, with 78,400 confirmed cases, and isolation has contributed to increased rates of dementia, stroke, heart disease, and mortality among residents.

Urges Illinois long-term care facilities to comply with federal CMS and CDC guidance requiring in-person visitation including end-of-life visits, compassionate care visits, and essential caregiver visits regardless of COVID-19 positivity rates or vaccination status.

Calls for the Illinois Department of Public Health to investigate and hold facilities accountable for improperly denying visitation without adequate clinical or safety justification, and to work with facilities to address barriers to reinstating visitation.

Requests the Illinois Department of Public Health continue consulting with long-term care advocates, the Illinois Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and essential caregiver organizations to address inequitable access to visitation rights.

Emphasizes that compassionate care visits include end-of-life situations, residents struggling with recent admission, grieving residents, residents experiencing weight loss or dehydration, and residents showing signs of emotional distress from isolation.