SAFE VISITING, INCLUDING OUTDOOR AND WINDOW VISITS, IS ESSENTIAL TO THE HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF NURSING HOME RESIDENTS April 20, 2021

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Sarah Lennon, Executive Director of Sage Advocacy, joins LMFM's Michael Reade Show to discuss why safe visits are essential to the health and well being of nursing home residents.

Ms Lennon said the first priority must always be to safeguard the health and well being of both residents and staff who care for them and acknowledged that there would be concerns among residents and their families if visiting to nursing homes had to be suspended again in relation to an incidence of COVID-19.

Ms Lennon said the latest round of testing shows while the positivity rate of Covid-19 testing in nursing homes is low, the virus is still circulating in our communities and continues to pose a risk.

Ms Lennon said it is important to remember that if indoor visits have to be suspended in a nursing home because of a confirmed outbreak of Covid-19 then window visiting and outdoor visiting can, under the current guidance, be facilitated by nursing home providers at any framework level or during outbreaks.