South West Illinois News

State Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) has called out the Illinois Department of Public Health for waiting until Nov. 24 to issue updated nursing home and long-term care facility visit recommendations.

Bryant targeted the state agency in a series of posts on Twitter.

"In case you missed it, IDPH adopted federal guidance for long-term care facility visits 12 days after the federal government put out the guidance and just one day before Thanksgiving," Bryant wrote in a Dec. 1 tweet. 

Bryant questioned why the agency took so long to issue new recommendations.

"IDPH had plenty of time to get these guidelines out so people could visit their loved ones during the holiday, yet they waited too long for many," she posted.

Bryant sympathized with the people who already suffered through many months and holidays separated from their loved ones at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and were now having to endure the same thing all over again. 

"The residents of these facilities should have been able to enjoy the privilege of visiting with their families like the rest of us," Bryant added to her tweet. 

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services issued updated guidance on Nov. 12, allowing visitation for all residents at all times. 

In her tweets, Bryant shared a link to a local news story about the new regulations. WGEM reported that although IDPH had opened up visiting earlier this year, the delta variant had caused it to limit visitation in long-term care facilities. IDPH waited until 2 p.m. on the eve of Thanksgiving to adopt changes that reflected those put forth by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. 

According to the updated IDPH guidance, not all long-term care employees have been vaccinated against COVID-19 making it possible they could become infected by visitors.