New Guidelines for Visits to Nursing and Adult Care Facilities

Residents of adult care and nursing facilities have been hit especially hard by the social isolation that comes with the pandemic. Visitors are not only crucial for residents’ emotional well-being, but also provide residents services, advocacy, and oversight. New visiting rules recently released by the NY DOH will help to ease that isolation. There are separate rules for residents of skilled nursing facilities and adult care facilities. The adult care facility rules apply to assisted living facilities, adult homes, and enriched housing programs.

The rules allow up to 20% of nursing home residents to have a visitor at one time. The rules allow a higher level of visitation for adult care facilities depending on the size of the program but cap the total number of visitors at 40 for large adult care facilities.

The rules also allow compassionate care visits to continue even if there is a high rate of Covid in the county or visits are otherwise prohibited. Compassionate care visits include visits to provide support to a resident who is grieving or experiencing emotional distress.

A guide to the new rules is available on our website. The full rules are available from the Department of Health:

• Adult Care Facility Rules
• Nursing Home Rules

For decades, the NSLS Adult Care Facility Project has served residents of these programs through funding from the New York State Justice Center. That funding is currently at issue in the New York state budget deliberations.