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| Marcella Goheen |
Robert “Bobby” Viteri has been at Manhattan facility Isabella Geriatric Center for four years as he has a rare neurological degenerative disorder called leukodystrophy that prevents him from eating, talking or even moving on his own.
And prior to the coronavirus pandemic, wife Marcella Goheen had visited Viteri for 4–7 hours every day to take care of him and help with therapies to slow his degeneration, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit from Monday.
Since the COVID-19 crisis, Goheen hasn’t been allowed to resume these activities and has only been allowed to make video calls, have window visits or outdoor visits from 6 feet apart, the suit says.
“Every day I’m on the video chat and I say to him ‘Bobby I’m going to get in soon.’ He starts crying,” said Goheen — who’s been a vocal activist pushing for nursing home visitations during the pandemic.
“The traumatization of the separation is very real,” Goheen told The Post.
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| Marcella Goheen and her husband Robert. |
Meanwhile, Goheen has been getting tested twice a week for the virus and has never tested positive for it.
Viteri’s “wife poses no threat of COVID-19 to him or to anyone else in defendants’ facility,” the court papers claim.
“In the absence of this wife, no other person has provided the kind of essential care and attention to his disabilities which his wife has and can,” the suit continues.
Doctors have even explained to the facility how important Goheen’s visits are “in attempting to mitigate the impact of his neuro-motor disease,” the court documents say.
Because of the isolation caused by the lack of contact with Goheen, Viteri has become depressed, despondent and has lost weight, the suit says.“My husband is deteriorating and that’s unacceptable,” Goheen said.
Viteri’s lawyer Michael Sussman told The Post that the facility has “shut her out even though they know she is of critical importance to his well being.”
“It’s really a tragic situation,” Sussman said.
The suit, filed in Viteri’s name, is seeking an order allowing Goheen to visit daily. Viteri is also seeking unspecified damages from the home.
“We don’t comment on pending litigation,” said Isabella Geriatric Center spokesperson Audrey Waters said.
Coronavirus has led to upwards of 6,500 deaths tied to the virus in both nursing homes and adult care facilities.
Families have sought reentry into the homes to visits loved ones for the past several months.
Federal and state guidance allow for limited visitation based on strict safety protocols.
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