Effective at 7 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, Reid Health is reinstating a greatly restricted visitation policy on its main campus and in physician offices because of a surge in COVID-19 patients that is keeping the hospital on critical bed status – and breaking records for patients being treated with the virus.
“We appreciate everyone’s understanding as we take these steps to reduce in every way we can this explosion of COVID infections in our community. We must protect our staff in order to continue serving the healthcare needs of our community.” said Craig Kinyon, Reid Health President/CEO. The hospital hit a new high of 92 patients over the weekend in COVID containment areas, and that number was still at 91 Tuesday afternoon. He said exceptions will be made in specific situations, such as end-of-life, in the Family Birthing Center and for outpatient surgery patients. “But in almost all cases, we will restrict visitation to virtual platforms, such as smart phones and tablets.”
Reducing traffic to and from the campus helps further reduce risk of spread of COVID-19, he said. “While the hospital is one of the safest places to be, there is no reason to increase our susceptibility to spread of the virus from people who do not have to be on campus.”
The restrictions include:
- A “No Visitor” policy with exceptions for certain situations such as end of life, the Family Birthing Center, minor patients seeking care in the Emergency Department, or outpatient surgery.
- No visitors to the following retail areas: Ginkgo Boutique, Espresso Bar, Café at Twelve Hundred in Richmond, Connors Post Café in Connersville, plus the ATM and vending machines on the main campus in Connersville.
- Healthworks in Connersville will limit capacity based on state guidelines on county color-coding. Current capacity is 25 since Fayette County is “red.”
Kinyon said the hospital has been at critical capacity for several weeks, and every step is being taken to avoid having to reduce any other health services as was done in the Spring.
For FAQs and daily updates, visit the www.ReidHealth/safe information page.