Nursing homes continue to be a hotbed for the COVID-19 infection. AARP members are being asked to contact their Federal Representatives, State Senators, & State Assembly Members to Implement a 3-point plan to improve conditions in America’s Long-Term Care Facilities, which must
(1) Have the personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing they need to identify cases and prevent the spread of the virus, as well as adequate staffing to provide care.
(2) Be transparent by reporting publicly on a daily basis whether they have confirmed COVID-19 cases; and provide residents and families information when loved ones are discharged or transferred out of their room or facility.
(3) Make available and facilitate virtual visitation as a safety measure between residents and their families.
We also need to urge our State Representatives to support the Governor’s Paid Family Leave Budget Trailer bill language: AARP is fighting to improve paid leave policies for California workers who must care for adult loved ones, some of whom have been impacted by COVID-19.
- Paid family leave with job protections must be available to all California workers.
- Family caregivers are on the front lines battling to keep their loved ones out of hospitals or nursing homes.
- Family caregivers help older loved ones with medications and medical care, bathing and dressing, meals, chores and much more.
- Across California, more than 4.7 million family caregivers provide critical assistance to help their older parents, spouses, and other loved ones remain living in their homes — most while also working full- or part-time. They contribute more than 4 billion hours of unpaid care each year, valued at approximately $63 billion.
And last, but not least, we need to tell our State Assembly Members and State Senators to OPPOSE the harmful cuts to programs serving older Californians in the state budget. This is the wrong approach to take at a time when older Californians are contracting and dying from COVID-19 at higher rates than the rest of the population.
Meanwhile, we are getting closer every day to a vaccine for COVID-19. Please, please, DO NOT use hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus – studies have shown it to cause serious side effects, including death.