September 15, 2020

We are now six months into our COVID-19 journey, and we’ve learned a lot about how the virus is spread, how to mitigate spread and how to continue providing the safest and most compassionate care possible in the midst of a global pandemic. One of the most difficult adjustments we’ve all had to make – patients, visitors, team members and physicians alike – has been the visitor restrictions required to maintain social distancing and reduce the potential for spread of COVID-19 in our care settings. The early days of the pandemic were incredibly challenging as we cared for patients without their support network, and we quickly realized this was not the most compassionate way to deliver care. Because even during a public health crisis, our patients’ wellbeing and health are always our top priority.

We led the way in easing the recommended “no visitor” restrictions back in May by allowing a single visitor, and today we are proud to share that TriHealth is once again leading the way in delivering the most compassionate care possible by allowing an additional visitor for each patient in the inpatient setting. No other health system in the region is considering an expansion of the 1-visitor policy, but after careful consideration by our clinicians and infection prevention team, we feel confident that with the guidelines below we can safely relax our visitor restrictions to allow 2 visitors in the hospital setting where our patients are most likely to need the additional support from loved ones.

Current visitor restrictions in outpatient, ED, procedural areas, physician offices/practices and ambulatory remains restricted to 1 visitor per day, due to social distancing requirements and space constraints in the care setting. Additionally, as flu season approaches, we are confident the new Compassionate Visitor Policy will provide the safest environment possible to also mitigate spread of the flu.

Compassionate Visitor Policy – Inpatient and Med Surg

• Our new Compassionate Visitor Policy will go into effect on Monday, September 14, 2020.
• 2 visitors at a time, per patient, except when the patient is in isolation:
  • Special circumstances and exceptions listed below, which will be handled on a case by case basis by clinical team.
  • The 2 allowed visitors cannot trade off during each single 24-hour time period. They may trade off at the beginning of each day or end of each day.
  • Allowed visitors for each patient will continue to be documented in Epic.
• Restricted visiting hours remain in effect – 9am - 7pm daily:
  • No restriction on the duration of each visit, but once visitors leave for the day they cannot return until the following day.
  • 1 visitor may stay overnight, must be one of the 2 visitors from that day.
• All incoming visitors will continue to be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and must wear a mask:
  • If symptoms are suspected or detected, the visitor will be denied entry.
  • If the visitor refuses to wear a mask, they will be denied entry.
• This expanded visitor policy will be in effect as long as TriHealth PPE supplies remain adequate to provide each visitor with the necessary PPE. Should supply levels change, the visitor restrictions could be rolled back.
• R-factor must remain under 1.5. As of today, the Hamilton county R-factor is less than .9, but if any changes in R-factor occur it could result in visitor restrictions being rolled back.  
• Age restrictions have been eased – children age 5 and above may count as 1 visitor:
  • In the Outpatient, ED, procedural areas, physician offices/practices and ambulatory setting where the 1-visitor restriction remains in force, the minimum age remains 16 and above.
• COVID-19 patients in isolation will not be allowed visitors, with the exception of end of life care.

EXCEPTIONS to Compassionate Visitor Policy

• The new Compassionate Visitor Policy does not supersede existing policies in place for special circumstances.
• The following areas have existing processes in place that do not change as a result of the Compassionate Visitor Policy:
  • Maternity – 1 visitor per day and overnight.
  • Pediatrics – Physician office/practices, ambulatory and outpatient - 2 visitors allowed with visit, must be 16 and above.
  • NICU – 2 visitors per day, visitors remain restricted to the two people who received a band at the baby’s birth.
  • Special Care Nursery (SCN) at Bethesda North - 2 visitors per day, visitors remain restricted to the two people who received a band at the baby’s birth.
  • Psych – handled on case by case basis at the local level.
  • End of Life Care – handled on a case by case basis at the local level.
  • CVICU and MSICU - 2 visitors per day are allowed, but visiting hours are 9am-1pm and visitors must be 16 years or older.
  • ED – 1 visitor per day.
    • UPDATE: The visitor may now accompany the patient to the floor if the patient is admitted after 7pm, and depending on the floor admitted, the Compassionate Visitor policy may then go into effect.
• Outpatient, procedural areas, physician offices/practices and ambulatory remain under the 1 visitor policy, due to space considerations in the care areas.
• Space restrictions (social distancing requirements) may supersede 2 visitor policy at any time. The care area must allow for the additional visitors and proper social distancing, as determined by clinical staff at the local level. The 2-visitor policy is not a guarantee in all inpatient and med surg areas.

ED Visitor Policy

Outpatient Visitor Policy 

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to provide the safest care possible to those we serve. Your flexibility and support of our evolving policies and best practices is vital for our continued success in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Today marks another important milestone in our journey to return to normal operations and we are grateful to each of you for your ongoing work to ensure we are getting healthcare right during these unprecedented times.