Welcome to Essential Caregivers Coalition

More Than A Visitor for residents of all ages in long-term care.

Who We Are

Essential Caregivers Coalition is a national advocacy group dedicated to establishing the role of the Essential Caregiver to prevent long-term care residents from suffering due to the effects of isolation during facility lockdowns.

Our mission is to educate the public on the issues surrounding visitation restrictions and resident-designated support persons (Essential Caregivers), research ways to bring relief to the situation, and collaborate with various advocacy group leaders, policymakers, public health, and healthcare and legal professionals to design human-centered solutions.

What We Stand For

Our loved ones, young & old, are locked up in long-term care facilities, cut off from the world since March 2020.
We are their eyes and their ears
We are their advocates and their advisors
We are their representatives
We are their VOICE
We are their Essential Partners In Care
We seek safe access to support them like only we can.


Our Ask & Our Promise:
1 designated essential family caregiver is permitted inside at one time while restricted to their resident's room or room partition.
We do as staff should: strict adherence to proper PPE use, infection control protocols, and testing.


Definitions:
Family = anyone the resident considers close personal support, by relation or by choice.
Caregiver = this can be emotional, social, psychological, spiritual, or physical support and oversight for the resident.
Essential = without us, the resident risks a failure to thrive, serious cognitive declines, and a loss of the will to live.