Their story captured the hearts of many people during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it inspired Gov. Ron DeSantis to find a solution for long-term care visitation in Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for a “Patients’ Bill of Rights” that would keep loved ones from being denied visiting their sick relatives in medical facilities.

A Jacksonville woman is pushing to secure rights for every caregiver to see their loved one — pandemic or not.

On this edition of “This Week in Jacksonville,” we discuss the response to and impact from Tropical Storm Elsa, with state Sen. Audrey Gibson and U.S. Rep. John Rutherford. We also look ahead to 2022, talking with Gibson about her endorsement of Democrat U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist in the race for Florida governor. Rutherford gives us an update from Washington, D.C., talking about the Freedom to Fly Act and the Essential Caregivers Act. And we talk with Mary Daniel, a local advocate for senior care and the founder of Caregivers for Compromise. Her husband, who has Alzheimer’s, resides at a memory care facility, and she couldn’t see him during the first months of the pandemic. Hear how her experiences during that time led her to take action and push for change.

A Jacksonville woman whose story made national news during the pandemic continues making a difference for people like her.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For every one of us who has missed being with loved ones during this pandemic, Mary Daniel has made a Positively Jax difference. Mary was separated for four months from Steve, who has Alzheimer’s and lives in a memory care facility. She worried that the isolation was going to be deadly for her husband, so she began exploring options. In order to be closer to Steve, she took a job as a dishwasher at the facility where he lives. She not only made a Positively Jax difference but a difference in lives nationwide because she refused to let COVID-19 keep her apart from her husband.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For every one of us who has missed being with loved ones during this pandemic, Mary Daniel made a Positively Jax difference. She spearheaded an effort to gain access for families to long-term care and assisted-living facilities so people could be with their loved ones. Mary was separated for four months from Steve, who has Alzheimer’s and lives in a memory care facility. She not only made a Positively Jax difference but a difference in lives nationwide because she refused to let COVID-19 keep her apart from her husband. For her efforts, Mary is honored with our Positively Jax award for March.

As if 2020 wasn’t a memorable enough year, these Florida men and women found a way to make their way into the news. We have hand-picked the Top 10 “Because Florida” stories from 2020 as the year comes to an end. Florida man holding trash can for friend finds dead bodyWhat a disturbing find. Florida man wrestles gator to save dogThis viral story is Florida in a nutshell. Florida man with Down Syndrome competes in Ironman triathlonIt was a big win for this Florida man!

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As millions of Americans await the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, a Jacksonville woman hopes her husband, who is fighting Alzheimer’s, is among the first to get it. Mary Daniel has been visiting her husband Steve every day at Rosecastle at Deerwood, a long-term memory care center located along R G Skinner Parkway off Interstate 295. RELATED: Couple’s story inspires DeSantis to find solution for long-term care visitation | Jacksonville woman gets job at long-term care facility so she can see her husbandRestrictions placed on visitation at long-term care facilities were lifted this fall, so now Daniel can visit her husband as both his primary caregiver and wife. Daniel hopes the vaccine will be available to her husband soon. Ron DeSantis has said that when Florida receives its first shipment, the state’s priority will be getting residents and staff of long-term care facilities vaccinated, along with health care workers.

RELATED: DeSantis relaxes some visitation restrictions for long-term care facilitiesRules had not been published or announced by the agencies early Wednesday. The emergency order tracks recommendations that the Mayhew-led Task Force on the Safe and Limited Re-Opening of Long-Term Care Facilities released last week. The governor and members of the long-term care facility task force said Jacksonville resident and advocate Mary Daniel helped inspire the new rules. Daniel, whose husband suffers from Alzheimers disease, took a job as a dishwasher in her husbands long-term care facility to spend permitted time with him. Kennedy said staff will require visitors to undergo screening and temperature checks and that masks be worn at all times.

Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced changes in visitation guidelines for long-term care facilities in Florida that will allow loved ones to again visit those who are most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. All visitation must be done by appointment only, and long-term care residents can designate up to five visitors with two visitors at a time for visitation. I think its smart incentivizing good practices on part of the facilities, DeSantis said. The governor and members of the long-term care facilitiy task force said Jacksonville resident and advocate Mary Daniel helped inspire the new rules. Daniel, whose husband suffers from Alzheimers disease, took a job as a dishwasher in her husbands long-term care facility to spend permitted time with him.

Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he will lift the states ban on visiting nursing homes that has cut off vulnerable seniors from family since mid-March over fears of spreading the new coronavirus. DeSantis said he would lift the ban on visitations in an executive order later Tuesday, following recommendations from a nursing home task force. The task force appointed by the governor recommended a lengthy set of rules last week, giving wide leeway for wary nursing homes on how to implement them. Henry McMaster announcing visitations at nursing homes could resume after nearly six months, but only outdoors and with no hugs or kisses. But some members, including state Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees, repeatedly expressed grave concerns during task force meetings.

Mayhew told members of the Task Force on the Safe and Limited Re-Opening of Long Term Care Facilities that her agency, which regulates most long-term care facilities, will be prepared to quickly implement whatever changes Gov. We are very skilled at this point turning all that around very quickly, Mayhew, who chairs the task force, said of emergency orders and emergency rules.That will not be weeks. The states March ban on visitation didnt include those groups of people, but long-term care providers havent allowed them access. Essential caregivers are defined as people who provide residents with health services or assistance with bathing, dressing or eating. The panel also considered broader visitation access, including allowing indoor and outdoor visits, so long as facilities have not had any new COVID-19 cases in a 14-day period.

Ron DeSantiss administration on Friday discussed a limited reopening of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that would not require COVID-19 screening for visitors. Under the proposal floated Friday, people visiting the long-term care facilities would have to wear personal protective equipment, such as face masks. DeSantis stopped visitation at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in March, as the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep the state. The long-term care facilities include nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and intermediate-care facilities for the developmentally disabled. The DeSantis administration contracts with Curative to provide COVID-19 testing to long-term care staff at nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. The ongoing discussion of how to safely reopen Floridas long-term care facilities to limited visitation continues. The meeting went on for over an hour and a half, and the big focus was on essential caregivers. It was agreed by state health and elder care officials that theres an urgent need to get essential caregivers back inside long-term care facilities. Shes pushing for essential caregivers across the state like herself to be allowed regular access to their loved ones. Daniel wants essential caregivers in first, even if its just one person.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman’s creative workaround for the pandemic visitor ban at her husband’s assisted living facility landed her on the governor’s radar – and helped inspire the creation of a statewide task force to address the issue of isolation in long-term care facilities. Ron DeSantis, who has since appointed Daniel as a member of a newly announced state Task Force on the Safe and Limited Re-Opening of Long-Term Care Facilities. RELATED: Long-term care facilities weighing how to safely allow visitors“If you look nationwide, about 50% of the corona related fatalities have been in that tiny population of long-term care residents,” DeSantis said in a one-on-one interview with News4Jax (watch the full interview below). But the task force will be exploring options to allow limited visitation at long-term care facilities. He said he looks forward to other ideas from the task force.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Families of Florida residents in long-term care facilities who have been unable to visit their loved ones for nearly five months might finally get a reprieve. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday during a roundtable discussion in Jacksonville that he’s launching a task force to examine safe ways to reopen LTC facilities for limited visitation. DeSantis banned visitors at nursing homes and other LTC facilities in mid-March, when the coronavirus pandemic first made its way to Florida. Numbers released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Health highlight the need to continue protections for older Floridians in long-term care. Out of 196,058 total staff members at long-term care facilities around the state, 5,879 have currently tested positive for COVID-19.

Mary went 114 days without seeing her husband who has early onset of Alzheimers, after the coronavirus forced the facility to ban all visitors. She took a job as a part-time dishwasher at the facility so that she is able to see her husband. Thats how long Mary Daniel went without seeing her husband after the coronavirus banned visitors from his nursing home, separating the couple for the first time since he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's seven years ago. When the Jacksonville nursing home locked down in March, Daniel didnt think it would last long. Can I get a job? she asked with sincerity, marking each day apart from her husband with growing unease.

Marys husband, Steve, lives in a memory care facility full time, and since long-term care facilities are not accepting visitors because of the coronavirus pandemic, it led to heartache not being able to see one another. Mary Daniel told News4Jax she was willing to do whatever it took to be with her husband. Mary Daniel told News4Jax she can already see a difference in her husband after four days. How do we describe it to him when we dont really understand whats going on? Mary Daniel said. Mary Daniel's husband Steve lives in a long-term care facility & is fighting #Alzheimers.

A Jacksonville couple, Steve and Mary Daniel, have been together for decades and have a love for each other thats transparent. The love that we have for each other right now is greater than its ever been, said Mary Daniel. Mary and Steve shot a video for an Alzheimers researcher two days before the lockdowns across the country. I have always known that this was going to kill him, Mary Daniel said. She said she considers it an honor to care for Steve and be there with him to the very end.