AUSTIN, Texas — Some of the earliest outbreaks of COVID-19 were in Texas nursing homes, and the facilities are still some of the hardest hit places by the pandemic.

According to state data, nearly 9,000 nursing home residents have died of COVID-19 since last April. That's nearly 10% of the state's estimated 90,000 long-term care residents. In total, one out of five COVID deaths reported in Texas were nursing home patients.

In light of this, state lawmakers are pushing a number of bills aimed at addressing nursing home safety.

“COVID has shined a light on so many of the issues we knew were there in nursing homes,” said Amanda Fredriksen, the Director of Advocacy at AARP. The organization is just one group lobbying for legislation to improve safety at nursing homes.

Some of that legislation would target visitation rights, after families weren’t able to see their loved ones for months due to COVID restrictions. Frederiksen says that legislation could protect families in case of future outbreaks.

“Families are the eyes and ears in facilities. They’re the folks that are in there often, they know when things are not going right for their loved one,” she said.  “The fact that they were out of facilities for so long was a huge problem. 

Other bills being pushed would allot federal dollars for staffing and commission an official study to implement more changes in the future. Another, Senate Bill 6, would provide sweeping protections against COVID-19 lawsuits for businesses and health care providers. But that’s something that AARP does not fully support.

“We think, as it’s currently crafted, it gives a pass to those nursing facilities that have been chronic poor performers,” Fredericksen said. “But we hope that by working with the bill authors we can fix it, so that those bad actors don’t get a pass. “

However, there is some hope for nursing homes and long-term care facilities. Nearly 47,000 residents have been fully vaccinated against the virus, and restrictions are starting to ease up.

“Nursing facilities are open again, and that’s really important,” Fredriksen said.