Nebraska Program to Open Door for Nursing Home Visits

Lincoln, Neb. (KFOR-Dec,6 2020) Residents of Nebraska’s long-term care facilities could soon get in-person visits from relatives or friends under a new program designed to help them during the pandemic. State officials say the essential caregivers program will allow volunteers to go into nursing homes and other care facilities once they’ve received training on how to properly don and doff protective clothing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The program was created as a workaround to restrictions that have kept most visitors out of Nebraska’s long-term care facilities since March. But Gov. Pete Ricketts and other officials warn that facilities which choose to participate may not be opening their doors right away because the program will need to be phased in.