Some New Yorkers say visiting relatives in nursing homes remains a challenge because of the state's new requirement that they have a Covid-19 test proving they are virus free within seven days of a visit.
The state last month reduced the requirement that nursing homes be free of Covid-19 infections from 28 days to 14 days before allowing in-person visits.
But at the same time it added the requirement that visitors present test results proving they do not have the virus.
“As a teacher who just returned to the classroom, we do not even have this requirement for our students, staff or personnel,” said Michelle Layer, who has not been able to enter her 90-year-old father's nursing home and hold his hand since March 11. “What seems like a good option for our elderly population in nursing homes is just another hill to climb.”
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The State Health Department said testing for visitors is one of its best defenses for protecting nursing home residents from Covid-19, which has killed more than 6,000 nursing home residents statewide.
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“While we understand the anguish this virus has caused nursing home residents and their families, testing outside visitors will continue to protect our nursing home residents and front line workers from Covid-19,” said Jeffrey Hammond, a Health Department spokesman.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo issued a visiting ban at nursing homes on March 12 in an attempt to halt the spread of the virus. On Aug. 18, with the worst of the initial wave of the virus over, his administration allowed limited visitation in facilities where staff and residents were Covid-free for 28 days.
The latest changes to 14 days and visitor testing became effective Sept. 17.
That allowed approximately 500 of the state’s 613 nursing homes to become eligible for visitation, Hammond said.
But for many nursing home residents and their loved ones, the state’s responses to open up visiting have been difficult.
Relatives of nursing home residents who contacted The Buffalo News said taking a Covid-19 test every seven days in order to resume weekly visits is burdensome and unrealistic.
Mary Orgek said it is just too difficult for her to make arrangements for a test so she can see her mother. She said she works during the day operating a licensed day care in her West Seneca home.
In the absence of what once were two and three in-person visits a week, Orgek said she is unable to assess if her mother is receiving proper care.
“The first thing we did when we would see my mother before the ban is give her a kiss and a hug and let her know who we were and we were there. She has dementia,” Orgek said. “Then we’d check to see if she had bedsores or bruising or if she needed anything in her room.”
The federal government does not require nursing home visitors to be tested, but encourages “facilities in medium or high-positivity counties to test visitors, if feasible.”
Additional guidance from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees nursing homes, states, “Facilities may also encourage visitors to be tested on their own prior to coming to the facility [e.g., within two-three days] with proof of negative test results and date of test.”
In counties where 5% of Covid-19 tests come back positive, the government recommends testing of nursing home visitors. At 10%, facilities should halt visiting, except for “compassionate care” visits, which include end-of-life situations.
In Erie and Niagara counties, part of the state’s Western New York region for testing purposes, the seven-day rolling average for the percentage of tests that came back positive has been at about 1% since June.
Orgek says she understands the reason for testing but opposes it because of the extreme loneliness experienced by nursing home residents.
“The powers that be in the state think they are doing us a favor by making it 14 days but they have made it a hardship for a lot of families with the seven-day testing requirement,” Orgek said.
She pointed out that if a person does get tested and makes an appointment for a visit, it could all be for nothing if a resident or staff member in the nursing home tests positive for the virus.
“Then you have to wait 14 days and the process starts all over again,” Orgek said.
Michelle Layer has not taken a Covid-19 test yet, and said she is relying on window visits and videoconferencing with her father. She questioned how long it takes to get test results and whether they would be available in time for a scheduled visit.
“I was told that the county testing site in Amherst could take up to five days for results, and when I called the state, they told me five to seven days on average for the results,” said Layer.
Hammond, however, said state test results come back a lot quicker. According to recent data, more than 40% of test results are available within 24 hours and statewide the average wait was about two days, he said.
Tests conducted by the Erie County Department of Health are “generally available” within three to five days by phone, according a Kara Kane, the department’s public information officer.
Those who want results from the county tests in printed form to present at nursing homes, Kane said, can request they be mailed to their home, faxed to their physician’s office or they can make arrangements to pick up the results at the county’s Rath Building in downtown Buffalo.
State test results are available through a patient portal and can be printed.
Testing provided by Erie County and New York State is free, even if individuals seek the tests every seven days, but the test must be scheduled ahead of time. For Erie County testing, residents should call 858-2929 and for state testing, the phone number is 888-364-3065.
Hammond also suggested that individuals who seek testing elsewhere, such as at a private medical practice, should check ahead of time with their health insurer to find out if there are any fees.
