Press Releases

Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI) has introduced the Randy Susen Nursing Home Visitation Rights Act to ensure nursing home residents can never again be denied visits from their loved ones in times of crisis. Grothman worked on this legislation with Shirley Krause, Randy Susen’s wife.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing homes nationwide imposed strict visitation bans in the name of infection control. These policies left many residents cut off from their families, leading to decline and even death in isolation without the comfort of a loved one. Prolonged isolation often leads to steep declines in mental, emotional, and physical health for nursing home residents.

The bill is named in honor of Randy Susen, a resident of Wisconsin’s Sixth District, who passed away during the pandemic after being denied visits from his family. Randy’s health deteriorated rapidly when separated from the people he loved most.

“Tragedies like Randy Susen’s must never be repeated,” said Congressman Grothman. “Forced isolation robbed Randy, and other residents, of the very connections that give them strength and joy. Policies that were intended to protect instead caused devastating harm, leaving far too many patients to suffer without the presence of their families. This bill will ensure that no nursing home resident is ever forced to face that isolation again.”

“After my 64-year-old husband Randy suffered a massive subdermal hematoma and stroke, doctors told me to let him go, saying he would never recover or even know me as his wife. Yet our love carried him into a remarkable recovery,” said Shirley Krause, Randy Susen’s wife.  “In March 2020, COVID nursing home restrictions barred me from being with him—I could only see him through a window. His health declined from loneliness, and I was emotionally shattered by the separation. No patient or family should endure such inhumane pain.”

Background Information

The Randy Susen Nursing Home Visitation Rights Act would:

• Amend the Medicare and Medicaid provisions of the Social Security Act to require that every nursing home resident be allowed to designate no fewer than one “essential visitor.”
• Guarantee that this essential visitor cannot be denied access to the resident except by the resident themselves.
• Protect dignity, health, and accountability by ensuring that residents always have access to at least one trusted loved one, regardless of circumstances.

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U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeulah) proudly serves the people of Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives