Virus-related restrictions on long-term care facilities also keep inspectors out

"They are so much more vulnerable there than the rest of us, and I appreciate them taking that precaution," said Steve Byers, whose mother is in a Raleigh nursing home.

Byers, who normally visits his mother daily, said he hasn't seen her in two weeks and must rely on phone calls for updates. Aside from end-of-life situations, relatives cannot get inside long-term care facilities.

"It’s tough on me, and I was very concerned about my mother," he said.

Like relatives, state and federal inspectors are locked out of long-term care facilities during the pandemic. Routine inspections have been halted, and outside agencies that provide services are no longer allowed.

"People that are there on behalf of the residents, ensuring that they are receiving quality care, ensuring that their needs are met and even just the emotional support of companionship, has now ended," said Lauren Zingraff, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Residents in Long Term Care.

"We are very concerned about the well-being of the over 100,000 individuals that live in long-term care facilities in North Carolina," Zingraff said.

Byers said he doesn't know when he will see his mother again.

"She seems to be at peace about it there, and it’s good that she can talk about it daily on the phone. So, it’s been a blessing overall," he said.

Communication is now more important than ever for Byers and other relatives, but Zingraff said many long-term care residents don’t have mobile phones, meaning family members must depend on facility staff for updates.

Zingraff said many families have become frustrated because they can’t get through to speak to their loved ones, as staffers work on the front line of providing care during the virus outbreak.

"I also know of family members who have physically gone to homes – in the parking lot – hoping that someone from the facility could just share an update with them because that’s just how desperate they became to get any kind of news from their family member," she said.