Families across Ohio were able to visit loved ones in nursing homes for the first time in four months.
On Monday, the state allowed visitations at those nursing homes that felt it was safe to do so.
One of those nursing homes was in Delaware at Willow Brook Christian Communities.
Ninety-two-year-old Betty Baker was able to see her daughter, her granddaughter and great-granddaughter.
When asked what she missed the most over the past four months of isolation she said, “seeing my family.”
Baker said she passed the time watching the birds outside her window and watching all the squirrels climb the trees.
As for the virus itself, she says she hasn’t worried too much about it.
“I really haven't worried about the virus because it's been so locked down that nothing can get in here,” she said.
For her granddaughter, Susan Johnson, who drove from Dayton with her 7-year-old daughter Lelah, seeing “Grammy” after all this time finally gave the family something to celebrate.
“My heart is so full right now. I have not seen her in five months. She is the cornerstone of our family,” she said.
Johnson says she’s using the pandemic as a teachable moment for her daughter.
“I keep reminding her that this bigger than ourselves and we need to be selfless. It's about wearing our masks, washing our hands, it's about keeping our distance, It's not just us it's everybody and this will die down and we can go to dinner with my grandmother we can give her hug like we desperately want,” she said.
The nursing home is only allowing 30-minute visitations and everyone must wear a mask the entire time and all visits are done outside.
Ohio's nursing home residents have suffered the most since the pandemic started.
Deprived of face-to-face interactions, as part of a state health order, residents were isolated from their families to keep the virus from killing them.
Seventy percent of all deaths from COVID-19 are from those living in congregate settings like nursing homes and prisons.
Those who run nursing homes say they’ve seen the impact isolation has had on their residents.
“We've seen a big difference with the families not being involved just a lot more withdrawn just letting the families back in the building is a huge step in the right direction,” said Nicole Ketron, Executive Director of Willow Brook Christian Communities.
Not all nursing homes in the state were able to allow visitations on Monday for a variety of reasons. Some were waiting on their staff to be tested and others still had COVID-19 in their facilities.