Nursing facilities bar visitors
Golden Hill, Woodland Pond, Baptist Home among sites acting on COVID-19 concerns
Nursing homes in Ulster and Dutchess counties have closed their doors to visitors in an effort to keep the coronavirus known as COVID-19 away from residents.
Jeff Hoffman, administrator at the Golden Hill Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Kingston, said the facility has barred outside visitors. And according to their websites, Woodland Pond, in New Paltz, and the Baptist Home at Brookmeade, in Rhinebeck, have done the same.
“That’s the guidance,” Hoffman
said. “We’re following CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) regulations ....
“We’ve met with residents and various family members to tell them what steps we are taking to make our residents and patients a priority and keep that (virus) out of here,” he added.
On its website, Woodland Pond said the ban on visitors probably will last “several weeks, but through March at a minimum.”
A statement issued by Woodland Pond said all visits to the skilled-nursing unit, assisted-living unit and Garden View will be prohibited. Additionally, it said, all nonessential medical appointments for health center residents will be rescheduled; all group trips for independent-living residents in facility vehicles will be canceled; indoor fitness classes will be canceled; and residents are being urged to avoid any group settings.
Woodland Pond also said it will close its dining hall later this week and instead offer dinner on a take-out basis.
In a March 10 letter to Baptist Home residents and family members, Kafen Zobel, the facility’s administrator, said the nursing home will work to find alternative means of communication, such as Skype or Facebook, in addition to telephone calls, emails and text messages.
There have been no reported cases of COVID-19 in any nursing homes in Ulster County or Dutchess County, however state and federal health agencies say the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the virus.
New York state had 173 cases as of Tuesday, with most of them in Westchester County. There is one case in Ulster County, in the town of Rochester.
A March 9 memo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said nursing facilities that are in counties or adjacent to counties where COVID-19 has been identified should restrict access to only essential personnel.
The town of Rochester patient, who recently returned from France, is under quarantine at home, along with a family member who has not exhibited symptoms, and both are being monitored by the Ulster County Department of Health and Behavioral Health, according to County Executive Pat Ryan.
In Dutchess County, six residents who might have been in contact with the Rochester man, along with seven other Dutchess County residents who recently traveled out of the area, have agreed to self-quarantine, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said.
Across the country, five long-term care facilities have reported cases of COVID-19, including a facility in Kirkland, Wash., where 19 residents have died from the virus.
On Monday, Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa announced that all visits to the Ulster County Jail are being suspended for 30 days because of the growing number of virus cases in New York state.