SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Caregivers across Illinois say their residents are having rights violated again by the Department of Public Health. Families hoped they could return to normal visits with their vaccinated loved ones, but they face new limitations.
Caregivers say their loved ones must quarantine for two weeks if they leave a long-term care facility. That applies to all residents, regardless of their vaccination status.
The Pritzker administration issued new guidance for long-term care facilities on August 6. IDPH recommended a 14-day quarantine for all residents admitted and re-admitted to facilities due to COVID-19 variants that spread easily. However, most long-term care facilities took that recommendation as a requirement.
Carrie Leljedal, a caregiver from the Metro East, says the new guideline has applied to people of all ages, even if they need to leave for a routine doctor's appointment.
"These guidances with the 14 days and these quarantines, they're not even recommended by the CDC," said Leljedal said. "Illinois is the only state in the country doing this. Why are we doing this to our residents?"
Lawmakers step in to demand change
This issue already got the attention of some state lawmakers. Rep. Charlie Meier and Sen. Jil Tracy wrote a letter to Dr. Ngozi Ezike asking her to review the guidance and make adjustments for residents.
Leljedal also said many facilities have cut off visits with family members completely. She's afraid residents will continue to live in isolation without help from the state. Leljedal said her son Lynn and many other residents can't take this anymore.
"When they say they would rather die than live like this, we're not doing anything," said Leljedal. "All that we are doing is violating their basic rights. Residents in long-term care have the same rights as anybody else."
The Illinois chapter of Caregivers for Compromise worked with Meier and Tracy to send the letter to Ezike. Now, they're calling on other lawmakers to sign on and demand this change to allow residents to see their loved ones without worrying about isolation again.
Family members are also concerned that the state is not addressing the real problem - unvaccinated staff. Gov. JB Pritzker recently announced a vaccine requirement for all state employees working in congregate settings. The vaccine deadline for those workers is October 4.
However, many long-term care facilities are run by private non-profit organizations. Leljedal feels that should be addressed quickly instead of putting residents through unnecessary quarantine.
"We don't put people in residential facilities of any kind to take away their quality of life. We put them there so they can get the help they need to hopefully improve their quality of life," Leljedal said.
IDPH officials did not respond to a request for comment on this issue.
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'They would rather die than live like this': Caregivers demand IDPH change recent guidance for long-term care residents - WGEM
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