Nash UNC Health Care Revises Visitation Policy
ROCKY MOUNT, North Carolina (December 17, 2020) –
Nash UNC Health Care is revising their visitation policy to allow hospitalized patients to have two designated visitors over the Christmas holiday and beyond. The new visitation guidelines will go into effect beginning Monday, December 21st and remain in place until further notice.
Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Nash UNC revised their visitation policy to allow two visitors for inpatients at Nash General, Critical Care, Cardiac Observation Unit, and the Women’s Center, as opposed to the one designated visitor.
“The change in visitation policy over Thanksgiving worked well with the process we had in place, and as a result, we wish to continue this policy change through the holiday season and beyond,” said Dr. L. Lee Isley, president and CEO of Nash UNC Health Care. “As we continue our work to balance patient experience with safety, we will continue to monitor conditions in our community, our COVID census in the hospital, and guidance from the CDC, and will alter our operations as needed,” said Isley.
Under the new visitation guidelines, only one visitor will be permitted at a time to ensure social distancing is maintained in the patient’s room, for both the safety of the patient and the visitor. The two designated visitors a patient selects can switch out as needed throughout their stay, and will be monitored with a check-in/check-out process at the front desk. Exceptions will continue to be granted for extenuating circumstances such as end of life or other special needs determined by the clinical care team.
All visitors will be required to follow all safety policies, including a touch-less temperature check and health screening upon entrance, wearing a mask for the duration of their visit, and following proper infection prevention practices such as frequent hand washing.
“With COVID-19 still affecting our community heavily, we urge the community to practice safety precautions during this holiday season,” said Isley. “We would like to remind the community of the importance of wearing a mask, social distancing, and following the CDC recommendations for holiday gatherings.”
This new visitation policy will only be applied to hospitalized patients in the Nash General Hospital units, Critical Care, Cardiac Observation Unit and Women’s Center. The Emergency Department, Bryant T. Aldridge Rehabilitation Center, Coastal Plain Hospital and Outpatient Areas will maintain their current visitation policies—allowing only 1 designated, screened visitor with the exception of pediatric patients, who are allowed 2 designated, screened visitors. Patients receiving treatment for COVID-19 will not be allowed visitors for the safety of the patient, visitor and community, except in extenuating circumstances.
