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Visitation policies leave some families upset

Elaine Ingersoll

Recent changes to visitation policies at Dunkirk’s Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center have some with loved ones there upset.

Tricia Wilson, a Cattaraugus woman whose mom, Elaine Ingersoll, lives at CNRC, wrote to the OBSERVER last week noting that beginning March 25, visitations were being limited to those whose deaths appear imminent.

“The home will not acknowledge the new guidelines set by the (New York State) Department of Health saying they don’t have to follow anything,” Wilson wrote. “Now my mom is in Hospice, yet they still won’t let us do compassionate care visits. My mom worked as an RN at Brooks hospital for more then 30 years and this is how she gets treated?

“My heart and my father’s breaks when we think of her sitting in a wheelchair alone. … If this was their sister, their mother how different would things be? Yet no compassionate care visits unless it’s imminent death? That’s not what the guidelines say!” she added. “We are watching her deteriorate slowly and painfully with no family around her. The administration lies to the public about how much they are allowing. They aren’t allowing anything.”

Wilson said Ingersoll has gone from 165 pounds to 116 pounds since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Some families are expressing frustration with Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and its visitation policy.

“She was only in there a week when they had shut everything down. Her greatest love has always been family,” Wilson said. “When she went in she could still speak so we could understand her words. Now we are lucky if we can get one good word out. All she does is cry.”

Carol Tulipane, who also has a loved one at CNRC, made similar complaints in a recent Facebook post she shared with the OBSERVER.

“I have talked to them about these new laws, which allow two people per resident to be compassionate care givers. They are supposed to be allowed in at all times, along with any clergy for the resident to help with feeding, personal care and emotional and mental support,” she wrote. “They have told several families that their loved ones do not meet the criteria for a compassionate care visit. Doesn’t every individual need emotional and mental support whether they are in a facility or not? They refuse to let this happen.

“Once you sit down, they sit there with a stop watch because you cannot be there for more than a half an hour,” Tulipane continued. “You cannot have a private conversation because they listen to everything you say and then they give you a warning time is almost up, and then tell you that you have to leave. … The employees overseeing the visitation were talking loud and their phones keep ringing so it was hard to hear each other talk during our visit without yelling.”

Tulipane went on to say that she was so upset with the rules that she staged her own protest outside the facility May 13.

Both Wilson and Tulipane allege that they and others have gone to the facility’s ombudsman, but haven’t received any help.

“We’re not the only family having a hard time,” Wilson said “A lot of people won’t write in.”

Dawn Harsch, CNRC spokeswoman, provided a statement to the OBSERVER.

“Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is working closely and in collaboration with the DOH and continues to follow all guidance regarding regular visitation as well as compassionate care visits. The facility is currently open for regular visitation for all residents in our green zone. Please note, residents who are on isolation precautions for the required 14-day observation period are not eligible for visits. Family members who would like to schedule a visit can do so by calling the facility at (716) 366-6400.”

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