DeSantis looking for ways to get visitors into nursing homes

Governor hopes to unite family members but urges responsibility and caution

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday he was trying to determine how to allow visitors at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities for the first time since the start of the

“We’ve got to figure out a way to get to yes, we’ve got to figure out a way to give some folks hope and be able to see their family,” DeSantis said at a Tallahassee news conference. “I am not going to sign off unless I’m coronavirus outbreak. convinced it’s going to be safe. But I don’t think we could just say no. I think we have a responsibility to try.”

But he added, “if it’s a situation where we’re running a risk of having an outbreak, we’ll err on the side of caution.”

He said he did not want to put a timetable on allowing visits. But he used similar language about trying to “get to yes” in a visit to Orlando

on May 2 when talking about salons and barbershop openings in Orlando — just a few days before his administration allowed those businesses to reopen throughout most of the state.

Emmett Reed, executive director of the Florida Health Care Association, agreed with DeSantis’ goal.

“We want family members to be able to hug the grandmother, their grandfather, their aunt, their uncle, their brother, their sister,” he said. “We know the residents want things to return back to normal, too. They want to be able to play bingo, they want to have meals with their friends, but we have to do it safely.”

Reed said the ultimate solution could be some combination of “strong screening procedures, testing, proper infection controls and PPE [personal protective equipment], designated areas with appropriate social distancing, along with a process that is facility- and communityspecific based on the impact of COVID-19.”