Covid restrictions in senior living facilities are going on for so long that the isolation is killing our loved-ones. They need the physical care and human touch of their adult children to survive. Without it they are experiencing feelings of abandonment, loneliness, depression and suicide. They are literally wasting away and giving up on living.

While facility caregivers are allowed to come and go, family members are restricted and barred from seeing and/or touching our loved ones. Seniors are suffering due to lack of any physical, human contact from family members whose visits were suddenly cut off in March, 2020. Families are limited to zoom meetings, window visits and outdoor no-touch timed sessions that confuse and frustrate seniors, especially those already suffering from disabilities like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

We call on all governors to recognize this real human suffering of the families in their state and allow family members the designation of Essential Family Caregivers giving them unfettered access to their loved ones in all senior living facilities with the same screening criteria afforded to a facility’s paid caregivers so that loved-ones can once again be together without barriers to hold hands, hug and spend quality time with each other again. Please empower us with the rights of Essential Family Caregiver for our loved-ones.