Blessing Health System issued the following announcement on April 8.
Effective Thursday, April 9, 2020 and until further notice, face-to-face visits with patients with will not be allowed at Blessing Hospital in most circumstances and will be replaced with electronic visits to help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Members of the public will be allowed inside the hospital in two situations only with no exceptions:
Partner or designated support person of a laboring mother
Parent/guardian of a minor patient
In all other cases, visitors should conduct electronic visits with a hospitalized patient. If both the patient and visitor have devices to connect electronically, the hospital does not need to be involved in the process. If one or both individuals are in need of a device to connect electronically, the visitor should contact the Blessing Hospital Compassion Team at 217-223-8400, ext. 6832, to arrange for use of a device or devices and to arrange a time for the electronic visit to occur between 8 am and 8:30 pm. More information on electronic visits is posted on blessinghealth.org/covid19.
“I am a wife, mother, grandmother, sister and daughter. I understand how difficult this is for everyone,” said Maureen Kahn, RN, MHA, MSN, president/chief executive officer, Blessing Health System and Blessing Hospital. “The fact is that COVID-19 coronavirus is spreading within our region. The peak is yet to come. The only defense we have at this point is social distancing. That is the responsibility of each of us at Blessing Health System to the communities we serve and that is what we are doing with the electronic visiting process.”
Kahn added that members of the hospital’s newly formed Compassion Team will be available to be at the bedside of patient receiving end of life care at the request of the patient’s loved ones. Those providing a ride home to an individual undergoing outpatient surgery will be called when the patient is ready to go home.
Blessing Physician Services and Hannibal Clinic
No one should accompany patients on visits to any Blessing Physician Services and Hannibal Clinic location unless the patient has a physical or mental disability and the person is the patient’s caregiver, or the person is the guardian of a minor patient.
Illini Community Hospital
Before visiting Illini Community Hospital in Pittsfield during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, call the hospital at 217-285-2113 for the latest visiting information.
For the most up to date information please visit our visiting restrictions page.
Original source can be found here.
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