St. Tammany Health System has confirmed an upward trend in pandemic caseload, necessitating changes to visitor policy.
St. Tammany Health System is limiting patient visitation to one essential adult caregiver per patient. Essential caregivers must be 18 years or over and one of the following:
·Essential transport home after a same-day surgical procedure
·Laboring mother’s spouse or partner
·Child’s parents or guardians
·Critically ill patient’s spouse or significant other
·Infusion patient’s spouse or caregiver
·Palliative care patient’s spouse, significant other, or adult children
·Special needs patient that requires family member assistance due to dementia, decreased mental capacity, or significant mobility impairment
“We have the deepest compassion and true empathy for our patients and their families. We know having a loved one with you when you’re in the hospital is uplifting,” said Kerry Milton, senior vice president and chief nursing officer. “But we need to limit how many people are coming and going from our hospital as we see community spread of COVID-19 spiking once again. We encourage patients’ families to use technology to stay in touch while in our care, stay home as much as possible, wear a mask, and wash your hands.”
Visitation is not permitted on isolation units. In cases where an essential caregiver is permitted, the caregiver must be free of fever and symptoms, wear a mask the entire visit, stay in the patient room or procedure waiting area, and adhere to all policies including social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand-washing.
“In a clinician’s judgment, this visitation permission may be adjusted for patient safety and compassionate reasons,” Milton added. “We do recognize there are extenuating circumstances as we care for those who need us amid this pandemic.”
As health system leaders continue to monitor the presence of COVID-19 in the community, the visitation policy is subject to further change.