State works to reunite families of elder care patients

Reporter: Andrea Guerrero Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
Credit: WINK News.

For months, we’ve shown you images of families barred outside of nursing homes during the pandemic, unable to see their loved ones.

We looked at that plan in Florida to reopen them to finally reunite loved ones.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state closed all nursing homes and long-term care facilities to all visitors early on during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I mean when, we stopped when we stopped the visitation in the middle of March,” DeSantis said. “That was a tough decision.”

Now, there’s new hope people and patients can see each other again.

DeSantis said, with the help of Vice President Mike Pence, they’re putting together a plan to rapid test family members who want to visit loved ones. If you pass, you can go in and put an end to the isolation.

“Families have been pushed aside and out of these facilities,” said Brian Lee, the executive director of Families for Better Care.

Lee told us it’s essential the tests are reliable, and staff continues to follow strict guidelines.

Otherwise, Lee said, “It won’t be a hot spot anymore; it will just go and be engulfed in flames.”

We have spoken to families in Southwest Florida that desperately to see their loved ones, but they worry about timing with the rise in cases in the state.

DeSantis has not confirmed when rapid tests will arrive and loved ones can start seeing family members once again.

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