Dr. Gerry Baker and her twin sister Dr. Audrey Baker have not been in the same room as their 105-year-old mother, Grace Marie Baker, since March. That's when the state banned all visits to nursing homes to protect their residents from the coronavirus.

What You Need To Know


  • Some Nursing Homes in New York State reopened to visitors Wednesday.

  • To do so, nursing home residents and staff must all be coronavirus free for 28 days.

  • Crown Heights Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation is waiting to reopen, as one of the workers tested positive for coronavirus a week ago.

  • Two sisters went to visit their mother in the center, though, at best, they can only visit with a glass wall seperating them.

Their mom lives at the Crown Heights Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. 

"This has been a torturous situation for all of these people to be alone durng this pandemic,” Dr. Gerry Baker told NY1.

We first told you about the family in March. Initially, the sisters would stand outside the nursing home and wave to their mom through a window. Beginning In April, the sisters were allowed into the vestibule to see their mom, who sat on the other side of the glass doors.

“I really love her and care about her,” Baker said. “We all need to have something to look forward to and seniors need to have that, too.”

On Wednesday, the sisters hoped the family's separation would finally end. It was the first day of a new state policy allowing visits, if certain conditions are met. But when the sisters arrived, not only were they prohibited from entering the building, they could not enter the vestibule either. 

They could only communicate with their mom by phone.

The home told NY1 it cannot open to visitors because a staffer tested positive for coronavirus a week ago, and under the state guidelines, no visits are allowed unless a home is free of COVID-19 for 28 days. 

It was not clear why the home would not let the sisters into the vestibule. 

“Nursing homes have excluded essential visitors for the last four months and the residents are basically incarcerated,” Baker said.

The home's counsel said it was following regular protocols.

The sisters said they will continue visiting the home until they are allowed inside.

"We're always coming to see her,” Dr. Audrey Baker said.

For now, they will have to settle for glimpses of their mom through a window or the glass doors, hoping she understands why they all cannot be together, and that she knows how much they care for her.