What Happens If the Visiting Room Gets Too Crowded at Lakeview (and How Distance Affects Your Visit)
When Lakeview's visiting room gets overcrowded, staff follow a specific order for ending visits. Understanding that order—especially the three-hour cutoff and the 100-mile distance threshold—helps you plan your day and avoid surprises.
When the visiting room gets too crowded, Lakeview staff first ask for volunteers. They'll request that anyone willing to end their visit early do so to free up space. If enough people step up, that's the end of it. If not, staff move to the facility's set termination rules.
If volunteers don't solve the problem, Lakeview uses both time and distance to decide which visits end first. Local visitors - those who live within 100 miles - are affected first. Once a local visit hits three hours, those visits end on a first-in, first-out basis. The visits that started earliest get terminated first. Still too crowded? The same three-hour, first-in/first-out rule then applies to visitors who traveled over 100 miles. Even long-distance visits can be cut after three hours if space is still tight, with the earliest arrivals ending first.
Planning tip: The key thresholds are three hours and first-in, first-out - and the rules apply first to visitors within 100 miles, then (if needed) to visitors who traveled over 100 miles.
Some visits get extra consideration before termination. Visits with special permission, or visits for incarcerated individuals who haven't had a visitor in the last six months, receive priority. The Superintendent or Officer of the day makes that call before applying the standard termination order.
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- ✓ Keep the 100-mile split in mind (within 100 miles vs. over 100 miles) when you’re planning your day.
- ✓ Watch the three-hour mark - overcrowding terminations are tied to visits that have reached three hours.
- ✓ Remember it’s first-in, first-out within each distance group, so earlier-started visits are at higher risk of being ended first.
- ✓ If your visit involves special permission, ask ahead of time how that status is recognized during overcrowding.
- ✓ If your loved one hasn’t had a visit in six months, ask whether the Superintendent or Officer of the day can give special consideration before any termination decision.
- ✓ Build in flexibility: if the room gets crowded, the timing of when you start your visit can affect where you fall in the first-in, first-out order.
Traveling a long distance doesn't guarantee your visit won't be cut short - it just changes when you'd be affected if the room stays overcrowded. Local visitors (within 100 miles) are the first group to face termination once visits hit three hours, in the order visits started. If you're coordinating with other family or friends, keep timing in mind: earlier arrivals sit closer to the front of the first-in, first-out line. If crowding continues after local visits are addressed, the same rule reaches visitors who traveled over 100 miles. Even with a long drive behind you, plan as if you could hit that three-hour threshold - especially on busy days.
- Ask why the visit is ending - If staff say it’s due to space constraints, confirm whether they first requested voluntary terminations.
- Ask whether special consideration applies - The Superintendent or Officer of the day may give special consideration for visits with special permission or for someone who hasn’t had a visit in six months.
- Confirm where you fell in the termination order - If the three-hour rule is being used, ask whether the decision was based on first-in, first-out within your distance group.
- Ask what comes next - Find out what your options are for returning for another visit after the termination.
If you need to follow up in writing or confirm facility details for your records, Lakeview’s address is 9300 Lake Avenue, P.O. Box T, Brocton, NY 14716-9798.
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