Family members of nursing home residents say they are banned from seeing loved ones

BREMEN, Ga. — Family members of a loved one who is in a local nursing home said staff members have stopped allowing visits to patients.

Shana Gray, whose mother has dementia, is worried about what might happen if she isn't able to see her family.

Channel 2′s Lori Wilson was in Bremen, where Gray’s mother is a resident of the Haralson Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Gray said she was told Tuesday that she better visit her mother now or not be able to see her for a while.

“I got a call around 5 o’clock, and I was told that if I wanted to see her, I needed to be here before the doors closed at 5 o’clock,” Gray said.

Wilson reached out to the nursing home, which confirmed it is taking strict precautions to avoid its residents getting sick.

"Since a confirmed case has been identified in an adjacent county, we are taking strict action to restrict visitation so that exposure is minimized. So far we are happy to report that no confirmed cases of coronavirus have been discovered within our community of residents or staff," the nursing facility said in a statement.

Gray said her mother often won't eat or take her medicine, something Gray can encourage her to do. She's worried about what might happen if she can't see her mother for a long period of time.

"She has dementia and if we go for long periods of time, she forgets," Gray said. "Even if it's cut hours, once a day, at least let us come in and lay our eyes on her."

While some family members may be frustrated, the CDC said older adults are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus.

The nursing facility said it will continue to follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Georgia Healthcare Association. As of now, they it doesn’t know when it will allow family members to visit patients.

Wilson reached out to two other nursing homes in Haralson County that also said they are restricting visitors.

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