Florida Steps Back From Long-Term Care Policies

The state of Florida is pulling back from initiatives promoted by Gov. Ron DeSantis to keep down deaths and serious illnesses from COVID-19 among seniors, reports WOGX Fox 51 . The administration recently announced the elimination of state-supported, every-other-week testing of workers in long-term care communities, and the closure of 23 COVID-19 nursing communities committed to residents fighting the virus who cannot be properly isolated in their normal place of residence. The state government claims these measures are no longer necessary, even as nursing, assisted living, and other congregate living communities reinstate visitations. Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Mary Mayhew said the federal government's Sept. 2 requirement that nursing communities test staffers overrides the state's own staff-testing rule. The federal government also is supplying communities with rapid testing kits. However, no federal or state requirements for Florida's 3,111 licensed assisted living communities exist. AARP Florida State Director Jeff Johnson is opposed to the change in testing policy. "Frail older Floridians and their families have borne far too much of the pain and loss caused by this pandemic," he warned. "To protect them, long-term care staff, and the communities in which they reside, we need more testing, not less."