NCH recognizes how important support persons are in health care delivery. We are pleased to welcome support persons to accompany or visit our patients.
For end-of-life situations, the care team will make decisions about visitation.
To help ensure a safe care environment, we are providing guidance for support persons:
- Support persons with fever, cough, or shortness of breath should seek medical care before visiting.
- Support persons are discouraged from visiting patients who are at risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
- Support persons are encouraged to consider video and/or audio calls if the patient is airborne, droplet, or contact isolation.
- Support persons will be required to wear a mask (or face covering listed above) while in public spaces. When they are in a private patient room visiting, they may remove their mask.
- Support persons are encouraged to hand sanitize as they enter the building and are encouraged to hand sanitize as they exit.
- Support persons are allowed to eat in the cafeteria.
When visiting a COVID positive patient:
- Support persons will be limited to essential visitors such as those helping to provide patient care.
- Support persons are limited to one visitor at a time (except for end-of-life situations)
- Support persons who are high risk for severe illness from COVID-19 are discouraged from visiting
- Support persons should only visit the patient they are caring for and should not go to other locations in the facility
- Support persons are encouraged to wear gloves, gown, and face mask when visiting the patient. The hospital will provide this PPE and assist with donning/doffing if needed.
- Support persons will be required to leave the patient’s room for aerosol-generating procedures (except for end-of-life situations – in this case, support persons will be required to wear an N95 respirator in addition to gloves and gown while in the patient’s room).
