Visits to assisted lving facility no longer allowed

Visits by family members and others from the general public are no longer allowed at a 19-bed assisted living facility in rural Oconee County—between Walhalla and Westminster. The facility is the Lakeview assisted care facility in the Five Forks Community that is operated by Senior Solutions of Oconee-Anderson. Doug Wright, executive director, expressed regret that for an indefinite period during the virus pandemic, the residents there will not have in-facility contact with their loved ones and friends. Wright concedes this will create lonely moments for the 19 Lakeview residents, but the ban on visits is to help assure the health of everyone—residents, staff, and the general public. Several of the virus deaths in the U-S have been elderly persons confined to nursing homes. According to Wright, a telephone line is being established for the residents there to communicate with members of their families. The ban on visits to the Lakeview facility, effective yesterday, does not at this time apply to Senior Solutions centers in both Seneca and Walhalla or to its local day care facility. But Senior Solutions urges everyone using those services to exercise good health habits—most of all constant washing of hands.