Smigovsky Jennie Personal Care Home

I would be extremely careful when considering here for a loved one's care. My problem with this facility comes from a personal experience involving my grandmother’s final days. The day before my grandmother passed away, I attempted to visit her and was denied entry. I was told there was a COVID outbreak at the facility; however, at the time of my visit, Pennsylvania’s statewide COVID restrictions had been lifted, and I had not received any written or verbal notification from the facility about additional visitation restrictions. What was especially concerning to me was that another visitor, my aunt (who was not an employee of the facility and had a personal relationship with the administrator) was permitted to enter. She met me at the door, and stopped me from entering. When I contacted the facility afterward, I was told that visitation decisions had been discussed with my aunt, who was the POA. My understanding is that POA status alone does not automatically give someone unrestricted authority to determine all visitors a resident may receive, particularly when considering a resident’s own rights and preferences. During a phone conversation with the administrator immediately after the incident, the administrator relayed to me that there was no COVID visitation policy, and that she let my aunt in because my grandmother wasn’t feeling well. My concern is not the necessary implementation of infection control measures. I understand the importance of protecting vulnerable residents. This is why I made sure that I had masks available for my child and myself, as well as vaccination documentation, even though these were not required by statewide mandates. No alternative visitation options were discussed with me, such as a video visit or other accommodation. Additionally, no measures such as temperature checks at the door were taken by the facility. Any visitor, including my aunt, posed risk to residents. I believe that this decision did not reflect what my grandmother would have wanted or the opportunity she deserved, which was to have meaningful contact with family at the end of her life. Federal Resident Rights state "The resident has a right to receive visitors of his or her choosing at the time of his or her choosing, subject to the resident's right to deny visitation when applicable, and in a manner that does not impose on the rights of another resident. (42 CFR § 483.10)." Pennsylvania Resident Rights state "A resident has the right to receive visitors at any time provided that the visits do not adversely affect other residents." My concern is that restrictions appeared to be applied inconsistently. If visitation restrictions were necessary because of an outbreak, I believe those restrictions should have been clearly communicated and applied equally to all visitors, while also considering my grandmother’s wishes and circumstances. In the end, I was unable to see my grandmother one final time, and I believe the situation could have been handled differently with clearer policies and more consistent communication.