Oklahoma Health Department Loosens Guidelines On Nursing Home Visitation

New guidelines issued this week by the Oklahoma State Health Department give more discretion to nursing homes and care facilities to allow visitation. 

Since the onset of the pandemic, care facilities have been largely closed off to the public in order to protect residents and patients from COVID-19. OSDH Deputy Commissioner Travis Kirkpatrick said separating vulnerable individuals from the public can raise other health issues. 

“The long-term effects of isolation can really be just as deadly sometimes as this virus,” he said. 

Kirkpatrick said the new guidelines include “loosened” language to give facilities more room to decide whether to allow more in-person visitors.  

“Rather than telling (Long-term care facilities) what they can and can’t do sometimes, we want to be a partner to them and give them considerations, offer them toolkits,” Kirkpatrick said. 

The guidelines encourage using virtual visits as an alternative whenever possible, wearing PPE and creating safe spaces to allow family visits with, for example, plexiglass dividers.

Although nursing homes have been essentially locked down since March, they have not been immune to the virus. 

According to OSDH Executive Reports on COVID-19, 3,657 residents and staff members of care facilities have tested positive since March. In that time, there were 370 deaths involving COVID-19. 

In the first 11 days of September, OSDH reported 337 additional cases and 25 deaths. 

In August, the state added 944 new infections and 95 deaths inside facilities, compared to 579 infections and 41 deaths in July. 

“There’s probably never a good time” to begin the reopening process, Kirkpatrick said. “We just think it’s time to start work in that way to have a smarter approach to reopening.”