Nursing homes in Illinois must make “every reasonable effort” to facilitate at least one phone call or video call between a resident/patient and a family member each day during a public health emergency under legislation signed into law Monday by Gov. JB Pritzker (D).
“We’ve learned from this pandemic how social isolation can have such a negative effect on mental health, especially for older adults in our state,” one of the bill’s sponsors, state Sen. Tom Cullerton (D), said on social media Monday.
“It’s so important that if anything like this pandemic happens again, long-term care facilities have a plan of action to make sure their residents have the opportunity to call their loved ones frequently,” he added.
