LOVED
LOVED ONES IN NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED LIVING CENTERS.TODA
Y THE TEXAS HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES
COMMISSION ANNOUNCED IT WILL
ALLOW LIMITED
VISITATION FOR FAMILY MEMBERS.
THIS JUST 2 DAYS BEFORE FAMILIES
PLANNED TO
RALLY OUTSIDE THE TEXAS CAPITOL
THIS WEEKEND FOR
THE RIGHT TO SEE THEIR PARENTS,
THEIR SPOUSES, THEIR
CHILDREN INSIDE THESE
FACILITIES.
SOMETHING THEY HAVE BEEN DENIED
SINCE MARCH.
SINCE MARCH. THE KVUE DEFENDERS HAVE SHOWN
FOR MONTHS HOW COVID-19 HAS HIT THOSE
NURSING HOMES AND ASSISTED
LIVING CENTERS HARD, BUT SOME
FAMILIES SAY THE ISOLATION
IS JUST AS BAD.
HERE'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
TERRI GRUCA.
TERRI GRUCA. IN A WORLD WITHOUT WORDS -
PICTURES SPEAK VOLUMES.
ASK THE HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES
POSTING
PICTURES OF THEIR LOVED ONES ON
THE TEXAS
CAREGIVERS FOR COMPROMISE
FACEBOOK PAGE
AND YOU CAN'T HELP BUT FEEL THE
HEARTBREAK.
STEFANIE TAYLOR IS LIVING IT.
OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS, SHE
WENT
WENT FROM
WENT FROM BEING JUST, YOU KNOW, IN A WHEELCHAIR, BEING ABLE TO CARRY ON A CONVERSATION,
BEING ABLE TO EXPRESS HERSELF TO
LITERALLY NOW SHE IS LYING IN A
BED.
BED. SHE
BED. SHE SLEEPS MOST OF THE TIME. SHE HARDLY CAN SPEAK. AND NOW I
NOW I
HAVE
HAVE TO
HAVE TO HAND FEED HER OR I HAVE TO FEED HER. COVID HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY CRUEL
TO
SENIORS IN NURSING HOMES. OUR
STATE IS AVERAGING 117 CASES PER
THOUSAND
RESIDENTS -- AND 17 DEATHS PER
THOUSAND RESIDENTS.
BUT FAMILIES SAY IT'S NOT JUST
COVID KILLING
SENIORS.
I DON'T KNOW MANY MORE CRUEL
THINGS THAN JUST LEAVING THEM
LOCKED AWAY, EITHER IN THEIR
ROOMS OR JUST COMPLETELY
CONFINED TO THAT ONE FACILITY
FOR SIX MONTHS. IT'S NOT RIGHT.
IT'S
IT'S
NOT
NOT RIGHT. GLENNA BUTLER IS AN ONLY CHILD WHO VISITED HER
MOM REGULARLY BEFORE COVID - NOW
SHE MUST DO SO THROUGH
A WINDOW.
YOUR CURE CAN'T BE WORSE THAN
THE ILLNESS. AND THESE ARE HUMAN
BEINGS AND THEY DESERVE TO HAVE
A SAY IN WHAT HAPPENS TO THIS
LATER PART OF THEIR LIFETIME.
FAMILIES ACROSS THE STATE ARE
SHARING
SHARING THEIR STORIES IN HOPES THAT SOMEONE WILL LISTEN. HEARTBREAKING STORIES LIKE THIS
ONE -- MONICA'S DAD, A
VIETNAM VETERAN WITH THREE
PURPLE HEARTS, HAS
LEUKEMIA - HER MOM, THE LOVE OF
HIS LIFE - IS IN A NURSING
HOME WITH DEMENTIA.
BOTH HAVE DECLINED AND ARE
LONELY, FEELING
ABANDONED - THEY JUST WANT A
CHANCE TO HOLD HANDS
ONE MORE TIME.
I KNOW THE INTENTIONS ARE, YOU
KNOW, INITIALLY WERE OF
COURSE, EVERYTHING'S BASED ON
GOOD INTENTIONS.
EVERYTHING THAT'S BEING IN TERMS
OF ISOLATION. BUT IT'S GOTTEN TO
A POINT
WHERE IT'S JUST NOT, YOU KNOW,
IT'S IT'S JUST NOT GOOD. I THINK
WE'RE CAUSING, YOU KNOW, A LOT
OF PHYSIOLOGICAL HARM ACTUALLY
AT
THIS POINT TO PEOPLE LIKE MY MOM
WHO ARE IN THE LONG TERM
CARE
CARE FACILITIES. RESEARCH SHOWS LONELINESS CAN MAKE PEOPLE
MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO ILLNESS --
AS STEFANIE
LEARNED.
THE HOME WHERE HER MOM WAS
STAYING SHUT
OFF WINDOW VISITS TWO WEEKS AGO
-- SHORTLY AFTER
HER MOM WAS DIAGNOSED WITH COVID
AND ENDED UP IN
THE HOSPITAL.
AT THAT POINT, I DECIDED I WAS
GONNA BRING HER HOME ON HOSPICE
BECAUSE I KNEW, I CAN TELL JUST
BY LOOKING AT HER THAT I DIDN'T
HAVE
MUCH TIME WITH HER.
A
A CRISIS
A CRISIS WITHIN A CRISIS -- WITH FAMILIES FIGHTING FOR MORE TIME.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THESE PEOPLE
ARE OLDER, THEY ARE
MORE VULNERABLE, BUT THEY ARE
OUR LOVED ONES. SO
THEIR SAFETY IS NUMBER ONE WITH
US.
FOR THE KVUE DEFENDERS I'M TERRI
GRUCA.
GRUCA. THE STATE DID SAY THESE LIMITED
VISITS
VISITS MUST BE BEHIND A PLEXIGLASS BARRIER WHETHER INDOORS OR
OUTSIDE AND THE FACILITY CAN'T
HAVE ANY ACTIVE COVID-19
CASES.
YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
ABOUT THESE
NEW RULES AND THE RALLY IN THIS
STORY AT KVUE.COM.