TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — With COVID-19 precautions and loved ones in nursing homes, some people are away from family during their final days.
One woman says she hopes to see a future change in the way facilities handle in-person family visits during the pandemic.
“This thing we were trying to protect him from, he still got, he still passed away, and during the last seven months of his life he couldn’t see the most joyous thing he had which was his family,” Hannah Cline, who lost her grandfather in September, said.
Hannah Cline talks about the importance of family and why visits were a priority for her
Cline says she struggles with the final months leading up to her grandfather’s death during the pandemic. She used to visit him every day at his long-term care facility until March, when the pandemic hit.
“That was a pretty bad feeling knowing that you’re not going to be able to see your grandpa for who knows how long,” Cline said.
Cline said her grandpa, who was 85, entered the facility in May of 2019. She noted he was still pretty healthy at that time.
“Without a doubt, I would say, not being able to see his family degraded his health tremendously, along with a lot of other elderly people I know,” Cline said.
Cline gives backstory on grandpa moving to nursing home facility, when COVID hit
Cline said he could not hear well, so a phone call wasn’t easy. She mostly wrote him letters, but was able to see him a couple of times for patio visits.
“You can’t imagine how it feels, you haven’t seen your grandpa in six months and you’re not allowed to hug them or touch them or anything like that,” she said.
Eventually, in September, Cline’s grandpa caught COVID with no real symptoms. Ten days later, he passed away.
“When I went to go get my grandpa’s stuff after he passed away the first thing in his boxes were all the letters I had written and the pictures, so I know he got to see that. So, that meant a lot,” she said.
Jade Humble-Schimmel also lost her grandmother at a long-term care facility during the pandemic. Her grandma lived in Terre Haute while Jade was at college, which played a factor in her attending Indiana State.
“We always liked to cook together, bake together, you know, ‘Wheel of Fortune,'” Humble-Schimmel said.
After college, Jade’s grandma moved into a long-term care facility for around two years. Jade, too, was able to visit with her grandmother outside last summer. She says she thinks the facility’s staff did a great job reaching out to family for virtual visits.
“The kind of technological barrier, very hard to get over. If anything, it was just nice to hear her voice and see her face.”
Jade’s grandmother also passed away at the end of September. Both women agree that technology was a great tool in connecting families during this time.
“I think with everything going on, that’s all we really can do to keep everyone in house, safe, happy and healthy,” Humble-Schimmel said.
Cline hopes for alternative in-person visit options, talks about utilizing technology
Hannah, however, says she wished her grandpa had the option to choose if he wanted to see his family in person.
“That’s what I struggle with the most, is that we didn’t save him from anything, you know? … Our elderly people matter, and their lives matter and especially the last year of their life, or whatever it may be, it would be nice if they had that option becuase everyone else does and they don’t,” Cline said.
We reached out to both of the facilities where the grandparents of these women were living.
Officials with each facility say that they are following the guidelines of state and local health departments along with the CDC for guidance on visitations.
Most recently, the Indiana State Department of Health says that there are no changes for in-person visits at these facilities.
An official with the ISDH says as more is learned about the vaccine, there could be future in-person visitations allowed.
