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Alice Center opens for limited visitation

The Alice Center assisted living senior home in Malone is opening its doors to visitors again on Monday.

This will be the first time friends and family of residents will be able to visit their loved ones since a coronavirus outbreak at the facility in October, which sickened nearly 30 residents and staff and took the lives of six residents. That’s more than half the total number of deaths in the county.

The center is only accepting pre-scheduled visitations to residents in its assisted living program, not its nursing home, according to a news release from Alice Hyde Medical Center, which oversees the Alice Center.

Though both the assisted living program and skilled nursing facility are in the same building, “they are separate and do not share employees or common areas,” according to the hospital. State Department of Health guidelines require that long-term care facilities be free of any COVID-positive tests for at least 28 days prior to hosting visitation, and there were still two positive residents inside the nursing home as of Thursday.

The visitations will be limited to two people at a time, and 30 minutes at a time with 15 minutes between visitations to allow the staff time to sanitize the visitation area between sessions. All visits will be supervised by staff members. Everyone who visits will be required to wear a mask and social distance, and will be required to go through a screening process before entering the home.

“We’re excited that our ALP (assisted living program) residents will have the chance to reconnect in person with their loved ones starting next week,” ALP Administrator Sherri Dabiew said in a statement. “We know how important this time is to our residents and their families, and we are committed to hosting visitation safely and ensuring everyone has the chance to connect in person.”

The facility’s administrators started reaching out to family members of residents earlier this week to let them know about the change to its visitation policy, according to the hospital. Visitations can be scheduled by calling 518-481-8404.

The Alice Center initially reported on Oct. 30, 2020, that two of its residents, as well as an employee, had tested positive for COVID-19. Prior to these positives, residents were only tested if they experienced symptoms, were being discharged to the hospital or going to the hospital for a procedure, or if a staff member tested positive, Alice Hyde spokesman Phillip Rau said last November. The two residents who received results on Oct. 30 were either being discharged or had been experiencing symptoms. More specific information can’t be provided because of federal privacy laws. When the positives were discovered in October, all of the residents were tested.

The Alice Center’s employees have been getting routine testing on a weekly basis for the past few months, per state Department of Health guidelines, according to Rau.

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