Legislation prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic was recently signed into law.
50th Districty State Senator Jil Tracy of Quincy, who sponsored the bill, says the legislation was field in response to the heartbreaking isolation that residents of long-term care facilities felt during the pandemic: “We were restricting visitors, but we realized that there were people dying alone and that there were young children who are placed in facilities because of their physical or mental restrictions and did not have the benefit of having access to a parent during that period of time. This provides that at least one person will have continuous contact with their loved one or their ward during that time. I think it addresses a real need that we found out during the pandemic that was missing.”
Under the new law, a statewide policy for visiting loved ones during public health emergencies will be established. It will let residents of long-term care facilities name an essential support person that would not be subject to visitation restrictions.