AUSTIN, Texas — In August, Texas started allowing some nursing homes to have visitors.
But a KVUE Defenders investigation found the State has allowed to less than 3% of all those facilities in Texas.
Data released Tuesday by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission shows 33 of 1,220 nursing homes in Texas can offer limited visitation to residents and families.
Only two of those are in the KVUE viewing area.
And 720 of 2,019 assisted-living facilities have permission to offer those visits. Of those, 49 are in the KVUE viewing area.
“You see the thousands of patients who are being given a disservice as human ends,” Lisa Johnston, whose father lives in a Texas nursing home, said. “We are not meant to have to function alone. And to expect our most elderly … to do that is brutal.”
“Family visits at Texas nursing homes and assisted living facilities are resuming. More will be announced in the next week," Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted Tuesday.
No one from the State would confirm what possible changes could come to nursing home visitation guidelines.
There are several current requirements nursing homes need to meet to have limited visitation.
Visits can only happen outside, no physical contact is allowed, the facility can’t have any confirmed COVID-19 cases and staff must be tested for the virus weekly.
A spokesperson for HHSC told KVUE more than 70 long-term care facilities have applications pending for limited visitation.
Staff at The Rose at Round Rock nursing home announced Wednesday it now has approval to start limited visits.
HHSC updates its data every day to show which nursing homes are allowing visitors. You can check on your loved one’s nursing home here.
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