Nursing homes limit guests to forestall the spread of COVID-19

Nursing homes in New Hampshire are forcing tight restrictions on guests to attempt to forestall COVID-19 from spreading to their residents.

At Rockingham County Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, no guests are being permitted except if there’s a medical need.

Dr. Karl Singer, of the nursing center, said he has seen nothing like this in 45 years.

“We’ve had epidemics, flu epidemics, but nothing that has required this amount of preparation and has raised this level of concern,” he said.

Daily group meetings are held to discuss rules from the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Authorities are likewise teaching staff individuals on personal protective equipment and remaining at home on the off chance that they’re sick.

Signs on the doorways illuminate individuals that no guests are permitted.

“We’re limiting them completely except for end-of-life and maybe other extreme circumstances,” said Steve Woods, of Rockingham County Rehabilitation.

“We’re lucky that we live in an age where FaceTime and Skype are such a huge part of our day and age, so we’re going to be looking at setting up different accounts so they can maintain that contact with their loved ones,” said registered nurse Lauren Kosow.

Older individuals are more likely to create extreme symptoms to COVID-19, so changes are being made over the industry. Authorities at the Portsmouth facility said most residents and their families are thankful for the changes.

“We’re super cleaning all of our surfaces on a very frequent basis,” Singer said. “Everyone’s hands are chapped because we’re washing so often, so we’re working extremely hard to prevent the importation or if possible, spread, if it does occur.”