Starting May 18, Baptist Health Corbin to allow one visitor for most patients

Starting Monday, most patients at Baptist Health Corbin will once again be allowed to have a visitor.

The hospital announced early Friday evening that starting on May 18, it was modifying its visitor restrictions to allow one visitor at a time for most patients.

“We know that our patients look forward to visits from their loved ones while they are in the hospital, and we want to facilitate that while still taking appropriate precautions to protect our patients and staff,” said Anthony Powers, Baptist Health Corbin President. “The safety of our patients and staff is our top priority, and we must ensure their safety by requiring everyone to wear a mask, continuing to limit the number of people allowed to visit, and encouraging communication through other means.”

Visitor restrictions are part of the infection control measures taken by Baptist Health for the protection of patients and staff.

Anyone, who enters a Baptist Health facility, must wear a mask at all times, and be subject to a COVID-19 screening, which may include having a temperature taken.

The new visitor guidelines for Baptist Health Corbin are:

Inpatients:

• Procedural Patients/Patients Undergoing Surgery – One visitor will be allowed to accompany patients entering hospitals for surgery or other invasive procedures after being screened. The visitor should restrict their location to an approved waiting room with appropriate social distancing and keep their mask on. If the patient has been assigned a room post-procedure that is available, the visitor should wait in the patient’s assigned room. Masks should be worn by visitors in patient rooms at all times. If the waiting room cannot safely accommodate social distancing, the hospital provide the visitor with an alternative plan.
• Inpatient COVID-19/COVID Screening Patients – No visitors at this time unless the patient’s condition deteriorates and the provider agrees that 1-2 family members should visit. If so, personal protective equipment and all infection control practices should be exercised under the supervision of hospital staff.
• Non-COVID Inpatients – One visitor, typically an immediate family member, after appropriate screening, will be allowed to visit the non-COVID inpatient. Hours of visitation until further notice are 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. 7 days a week. Brief visits of less than 2 hours are encouraged to decrease any potential exposure of patients or staff to possible infections. While being mindful of having one visitor at a time in the hospital per patient, if the visits are brief, additional family members may be screened to visit. Visitors should minimize bringing in outside packages and materials to decrease contamination of contents.
• No children under the age of 16 are allowed to visit at this time.
• Maternity Services – One spouse or partner is allowed to accompany the laboring mother to Labor Hall and subsequently to Mother Baby/Post-Partum. The visitor is strongly encouraged to stay in the post-partum room during the entire stay and to minimize time in hallways and common areas. The visitor should wear a mask when in the room with the patient and baby and at all times when leaving the patient room.
• Nursery and NICU – Visiting is restricted to one or both parents. If a parent reports an elevated temperature, the parent should self-quarantine for at least 48 hours after the temperature has subsided. Appropriate personal protective equipment should be in place at all times and parents should be oriented by the nursing staff at or before the initial visit.
• Critically Ill, Non-COVID-19 Inpatients – An additional family member may visit a critically ill Non-COVID inpatient for limited times as indicated by hospital administration and the Clinical House Supervisor as deemed appropriate. These visits should be time limited to minimize the exposure of visitors to staff and others. PPE should be in place at all times.
• Hospice, Palliative and End-of-Life Patients – Patients in hospice, palliative and end of life care may have an additional family member visit with approval. Appropriate PPE should be in place and the family members should stay in the patient’s room when at all possible.
• Clergy – Visits from non-family members, including clergy, are still discouraged at this time due to possible community transmission of COVID-19. All means, including electronic means, are to be provided to support the patient’s spiritual care. Pastoral Care staff from the hospitals may be asked to provide visits and spiritual support to any patient at any time.
• Ambulatory Centers for diagnostic and screening procedures – One support person or immediate family member may accompany a patient into an approved waiting room after screening with a mask on. The presence of visitors is variable per site based on the size of available waiting rooms. The presence of visitors is still discouraged when not necessary in ambulatory areas to provide additional social distancing in waiting rooms. Accommodations will be made for dependent adults and pediatric patients.
• Emergency Department – Visiting will be determined by each site based on ability to physically distance visitors.
• In the Behavioral Health units – Visitation will be determined on a case-by case basis due to the open structure of the unit and the ability to physically distance in that setting. Visits will arranged for patients by physician orders and pre-planned with staff.
• For any unforeseen questions related to visitors, the unit director or Clinical House Supervisors should be consulted in addition to Infection Control

Outpatient Oncology Ambulatory Settings

Visitors will not be allowed in Outpatient Oncology settings including infusion, radiation therapy and outpatient oncology clinics based on the risk of these patients for infections. If the patient is disabled or it is deemed that a support person should be present for a visit, the visitor will be screened at the entrance of the facility or department including a temperature check and masked with a hospital provided mask.

Baptist Health Medical Group

Baptist Health Medical Group (BHMG), which includes medical offices and Baptist Health Urgent Care locations, will continue with its current restrictions.

Patients are asked to come alone to appointments, wear a mask and expect to be evaluated for COVID-19 in advance of their arrival.

“Masks play a pivotal role in helping block the spread of COVID-19, especially from asymptomatic carriers,” said Wajdi Kfoury, MD, Infectious Disease physician at Baptist Health Corbin. “The more people who wear a mask, the fewer viral particles making it into the space around them, decreasing exposure and risk.”

No visitors allowed for BHMG clinics with the following exceptions:

• Patients under age 18 can be accompanied by one parent.
• Dependent and/or vulnerable patient who require assistance can be accompanied by one caregiver.
• Hospice or end-of-life patients can be accompanied by one caregiver.
• Any visitors that are allowed to accompany a patients will be screened prior to visitation which includes having a temperature taken and will be required to be masked.