California must allow vaccinated family members to visit long-term care residents

“It’s been over a year since I’ve seen my…” is a phrase that has been uttered by countless individuals since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Originally, this isolation grew from necessity — keeping our loved ones in long-term care facilities safe by not associating with individuals outside our immediate households.

With the growing number of fully vaccinated Americans, particularly those in long-term care facilities who were prioritized in early vaccination efforts, one might expect to see photos of tear-filled family reunions flooding social media. So where are they?

My brother, 43, lives in a long-term care facility and receives services through the Alta California Regional Center to support his developmental needs in Sacramento. It has been over a year since we have held him in our arms for one of his world-famous hugs. Though it has been excruciating to be apart, our family stayed connected virtually during this time to keep my brother, other residents and the care home staff safe. Many residents of care facilities have medical co-morbidities that put them in high-risk groups should they contract COVID-19.

In December, with news of vaccinations on the horizon, we began to advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities residing in long-term care facilities to be included in the first phase of vaccination efforts in California. We attended Department of Social Services and Department of Developmental Services meetings, sent emails to county and state departments, stayed up-to-date on the ever-evolving guidance for licensed care homes and communicated directly with the amazing care providers working with my brother.

When we received direct correspondence (on a weekend, no less!) from Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye confirming that residents served by the Alta California Regional Center would be prioritized, we thought the battle was won. Imagine our relief when my brother and his facility finally received their scheduled dates for vaccination — February 3 and February 24. Coincidentally, many of our family members completed our second doses the same week as my brother.

The hope for those hugs began to build.

We reached out to the care facility to schedule our first visit for a few weeks later to allow the vaccines to reach a high level of efficacy, and we were met with unexpected barriers. The same systems that supported my brother in receiving his vaccine were sending mixed messages to care providers, leaving them confused about how to proceed.

On one hand, the licensing body was explicit: Residents were allowed to visit family without the need to quarantine, isolate, test, etc. unless there was a known COVID exposure. On the other hand, the funding body was insisting on individual plans for residents who were going on visits that included isolation, quarantine procedures and/or testing.

We refused to subject my brother to additional isolation. Armed with Community Care Licensing’s Provider Information Notice (PIN) 20-38-ASC, “Updated Guidance on Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Statewide Waiver Related To Visitation,” we contacted leaders from several state organizations. We explained the conflicting information being given to care facilities and the impact on residents and families who were soon-to-be fully vaccinated and ready to see their loved ones. Personally, I was shocked at how many times I had to directly quote the pages where information about returning from an outing can be found. I was even more surprised by how many times the information was misquoted to me.

Despite these efforts and clear licensing guidance to the contrary, I was told a meeting needed to be scheduled to “discuss [my] brother’s specific plan for visits.” My response — that I would attend, but that no such meeting should be required in order for residents to visit their families after being fully vaccinated — was met with silence.

On March 1, our family held that meeting, and last weekend, my brother was reunited with his family for the first time in over a year. It was a beautiful, but extremely painful reunion. I have never held my brother the way I did or watched his jaw quiver as he looked into my eyes, almost pleading with me to reassure him this would not happen again. I have never seen so much relief, confusion, joy and pain on my brother’s face at the same time. While I am so grateful to have shared in each of those moments with him, I hope I never have to experience them again and I hope he never has to experience what he has gone through this last year again.

I am writing this because there are so many families with loved ones in residential care who continue to face the barriers our family did and who, despite risk mitigating measures, are being told they cannot bring their loved ones home. On March 19, 2021, Community Care Licensing published PIN 21-17-ASC, providing updated guidance for visitation and outings. The guidance permitting outings is clear and can be found on page nine.

You have the right to see your family. Reuniting with loved ones after taking risk-mitigating actions like receiving your vaccines should not necessitate a “special plan.” This should be the norm, and our governmental agencies must facilitate reunification and remove themselves as barriers in this process. I have worn my mask, stayed home, sacrificed precious time with my brother to keep him and others safe and I have been willing to do so. Now, protected with vaccines, he and so many others are long overdue for those hugs we have saved.

I’m ready to see social media flooded with videos of people just like us embracing their loved ones and ending this period of isolation for our most vulnerable populations.

This opinion piece has been updated to include a paragraph that was inadvertently omitted during editing.

This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 6:00 AM.