Blessing Health System issued the following announcement on June 12.
Visiting restrictions are easing at Blessing Hospital, Blessing Physician Services and Hannibal Clinic. Beginning Monday, June 15, each Blessing Hospital inpatient may have one visitor at a time in their room between 4 and 8 pm daily. Visitors for inpatients must be 18 years of age or older and need to enter and exit through Blessing Hospital’s main entrance at 11th and Spring Street between 4 and 8 pm. Visitors are required to bring a driver’s license or state issued photo ID to be permitted into the building. All visitors will receive a mask and be required to wear it during their visit.
Additionally, each patient attending a Blessing Physician Services or Hannibal Clinic appointment will be allowed to have one person accompany them for their provider visit.
Previously, only patients with specific conditions could have a support person during their hospitalization or have someone accompany them to an appointment to reduce the risk for spreading COVID-19.
“Visiting restrictions have posed a challenge for patients and their loved ones,” stated Maureen Kahn, RN, MHA, MSN, president/chief executive officer, Blessing Health System and Blessing Hospital. “We understood, sympathized and took action to ease the burden as much as was possible. Visiting restrictions were a necessary safety measure for patients, their loved ones and Blessing staff during the peak of the COVID-19 response.”
“As we increase COVID-19 testing and see positive cases remaining steady or declining, we feel it is appropriate now to ease the visiting restrictions a bit,” Kahn concluded.
Blessing Hospital patient visitors will not be allowed to go to the Cafeteria or to be in the hallways except to enter the patient’s room upon arrival or to leave the building. The visitor must spend all other time in the patient room.
Blessing Hospital’s other COVID-19 visiting guidelines remain unchanged, including no visitors allowed on the Skilled Nursing Unit. For the following types of other patients, one support person may stay with the patient throughout their hospitalization:
The significant other of a woman in labor or on post-partum
A parent or guardian of a minor who is a patient
A support person for a patient receiving end of life care/hospice
A support person for patients with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities or cognitive impairments.
All visitors, patients and staff will continue to be screened upon entering all Blessing Health System facilities, including having their temperature taken and will be asked if they have pending COVID-19 test results. Additional questions include if the person has had a fever greater than or equal to 100.4 degrees; has had a cough; shortness of breath; loss of taste and smell; headache/fatigue/weakness; sneezing and watery eyes, sinus pain/pressure; and if those symptoms are unusual and not clearly related to seasonal allergies.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Blessing Health System
Alerts Sign-up